You Don't Need Him
by SilverLining1294
Summary: Everyone had always thought Ron and Hermione were the perfect couple. After he cheats on her, Hermione turns to the only one who never associated her with him, but actually sees her for the woman she is. Fremione. Language and future fluff/smut.
1. Chapter 1

I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't as I vaguely realized dropping what was clasped in my right hand as I took in the scene in front of me. The two in front of me broke apart with a noise like a plunger being dislodged and looked up at me. Tears pricked at my eyes as I threw one venomous look and ran down the stairs. I dodged various people as I desperately tried to make my way as far from my traitor of a boyfriend as humanly possible. I could hardly see where I was going through the haze my tears created, but I continued to run feeling my shoe cut into the back of my heel.

"Hermione!" A voice called and I felt someone catch me around my waist. I looked up at the person holding me and pulled my arm back to punch them before I realized who they actually were.

"Oh, it's you." I said slumping into his arms.

"Who else?" He asked as he wiped the tears from my face.

"Your total arse of a brother, that's who." I said hiding my face in his chest. The crisp cotton of the shirt absorbed the tears from my face, and the familiar scent comforted me somewhat.

"What did my ickle Ronniekins do now?" He asked rubbing my back softly.

"I caught him kissing …" I mumbled.

"Sorry?" He asked leaning back so my face was no longer buried.

"I said I caught him kissing some girl in his room!" I cried and struggled to get out of his arms so I could run from the words that had tumbled from my lips. The normally bright blue of his eyes hardened and his usual cheerful face turned into a scowl.

"I'll kill him." He said looking around frantically as if his younger brother would materialize.

"Personally, I couldn't agree more, but seeing as that's a one way ticket to Azkaban I think we should probably think of something a little less illegal."

I had seen the signs for months; Ron and I just weren't the same as we used to be. Our normal bickering had turned into fights that lasted for days. This usually meant Harry carrying messages between us and me spending a lot more time than usual with the twins and Ginny. Ron had hardly even wanted to hold my hand anymore, and he was usually the more … frisky of the two of us.

"'Mione what happened?" Another familiar voice asked from over my shoulder. I turned as best I could with Fred's arms still firmly around my waist.

"Ron cheated on me." I said more tears coming to my eyes as I repeated the words. George's eyes mimicked his brother's and he started stomping towards the boy's dormitories. I called after him trying to get him to stop but he ignored me as he bounded up the stairs.

"Fred let go, I have to go I can't be here." I said struggling from his grip. Fred finally woke from his stupor and looked down at me.

"Right, yea, let's go." He said grasping my hand and leading me from the common room. I let him pull me along and I didn't realize where he was taking me until the brisk night air whipped at my face. He pulled me down to the ground next to him under the oak tree that I had frequently sat under with George and himself. The lake lapped at its shore a few feet away and the wind continued to bite at my face stinging the skin where tears slid down my cheeks.

"Come here." Fred whispered pulling me closer to him, and wrapping his arms around me. I had never really noticed how well toned his arms and chest were and realized that Quidditch wasn't really too bad of a sport if this was what happened to its players.

"How could he?" I wailed, hiccupping as the tears came full force.

"I don't know, Hermione, he's a git."

We hadn't been together for too long but it had been a few months. I thought he at least valued our friendship enough to have the respect to dump me before he'd do something like snog another girl.

"What am I going to do now?" I asked.

"Hermione, you do not need an arse like my little brother to function. In fact you're better off without him. You are incredibly brilliant and beautiful witch; you'll find someone better than him to have the pleasure to call you their girlfriend." He said with more seriousness in his eyes than I thought possible for him. Despite that I couldn't stop myself from snorting.

"Fred in case you haven't noticed I am not exactly desirable. Ron is the only one who has even shown the slightest interest unless you count Viktor. But he ended up running off with some other girl by the end of the night anyway. I am fully aware of my less than fanciable assets."

"Okay that's it!" Fred yelled as he stood up.

"What are you doing?"

"I am going to think of the most painful way to murder my little brother for making you think that you are lesser of a being than you truly are." He called as he stomped back toward the castle. I hastily got to my feet and ran after him. He ignored my pleas the whole way up to the common room. He growled the password and the Fat Lady swung open for us.

"Where is he? Where is that git of a little brother?" He asked storming into the room.

"I'm afraid you're too late if you were thinking of getting revenge for Hermione." Ginny called as he moved towards the stairs leading to the boys dormitories after noticing he was not in the common room. "If you want to find him, he's in the hospital wing!"

"Why is he there?" I asked sitting down in the chair next to her.

"Well after he was pummeled by George, he might have gotten the end of my Bat-Bogey hex, and then I'm not sure the other curses that hit him. Harry and George hit him at the same time. He kind of looked like a slug if you ask me. It improved his looks a lot anyways."

"Do you know who it was?" I asked staring at my lap.

"Lavender Brown." She said simply, "But don't worry she looks almost as good as Ron. I made sure of that."

"Thanks, Ginny." I said with a slight smile. It was nice to know my real friends had my back.

"I'm so sorry, 'Mione." Harry said pulling me into a hug.

"It's okay, Harry, I think I'm going to be alright." His emerald green eyes sparkled somewhat as he smiled at me. He moved over to where Ginny was and pulled her into his lap and kissed her lightly.

"Nice spell work there, I couldn't even recognize Lavender after you were through with her."

"Well I have the best teacher." She said referring to the DA. We had only had a few meetings but already people were improving. Then again it didn't take much to be a better teacher than Umbridge.

I felt the cushions around me sink as George and Fred plopped down on either side of me.

"Well it's done." They said in unison with identical grins.

"What did you do?" I asked almost afraid to hear what they were going to say.

"Just a new invention that was in need of testing." George said

"Let's just say Ron might be seeing something following him for the next few weeks, which no one else can see." Fred continued.

"It works similarly to our Daydream charms. Whatever his mind creates for him to see, really isn't there it's a figment of his imagination, makes everyone think he's mad."

"Which in a way he is for hurting our 'Mione here." Fred finished putting his arm around me.

"How do you administer it?" I asked actually fascinated by their invention.

"Just a few sprinkles on his toothbrush. Anything really that he could somehow swallow it."

"I actually can't wait for him to get out of the hospital wing; this is going to be hilarious." Ginny said giggling. I let out a giggle myself imagining the coming weeks.

A/N

_So this is my first ever fanfic, so be gentle. I'm not completely sure where I'm going with this, but hey that leaves me room to make it the best it can be. Any comments, suggestions, or just a review leave it in the review section or PM me. It's not like I actually have a life… _

_Alexis_


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm telling you, it's sitting right there!" Ron yelled out in the middle of transfiguration.

"Mr. Weasley what is the issue here?" McGonagall asked.

"I can't concentrate with that thing sitting there." Ron said gesturing to the corner which of course was empty.

"Whatever are you talking about Mr. Weasley I assure you there is nothing there. I expect you to stop disturbing my class or you'll be cleaning that corner in detention."

Ron glanced at the corner again, still sure that there was something there but stayed quiet and turned back to attempting to vanish his snail.

I was doing everything within my power to keep my laughs silent. Harry was doing the same thing, but his face was red with the effort. Ron looked over at him, but passed the redness off for concentration on the spell. I had already vanished my snail and was now working on my kitten. I pet it behind the ears a few times before vanishing it without difficulty. I raised my hand to ask for another animal, and I caught Ron scowling at me.

"Something the matter, Ronald? Seeing things again?" I asked and he opened his mouth to retort but thought better of it.

"Miss Granger you are needed in the Headmaster's office." McGonagall called as a second year handed her a slip. I hesitantly grabbed my things and left the room, unsure of why I was being summoned to see Dumbledore.

I was hurrying down the hall when strong arms were wrapped around me they pulled me into a room. I struggled against the arms reaching for my wand and pointing it behind me.

"Woah, 'Mione relax, it's me." Fred said sticking his face as far away from my wand as possible.

"What are you doing, Fred? I need to be in the Headmaster's office." I said moving back toward the door.

"Nah that was just me. I felt like you needed a break."

"What did you have in mind?" I asked, and I thought his eyes would pop out of his skull. "Hey I can skive off class if I want to, don't look so shocked." I admit it was definitely out of character for me, but I had already read the rest of the textbook. Vanishing spells were a piece of cake.

"I never thought I, Fred Weasley would be joining Hermione Granger, prefect, bookworm, in skipping class." Fred said with a grin.

"Mark today on your calendar." I laughed and led him out of the dusty abandoned classroom.

"Bet on it." He said hurrying after me.

"Where's George?" I asked, it was odd to see Gred without Forge as they liked to refer to themselves.

"I expect he's in DADA with Umbridge."

"And why aren't you with him?"

"I stopped going to her classes." He said bitterly.

"Fred, that's dangerous! You shouldn't cross her!" I glanced over at him horrified.

"Too late, I've already held a week's worth of detention with the hag."

"What'd she have you do?" I asked studying his face. I could tell he was hiding something from me as he kept eye contact with everything but me.

"Lines." He said quickly as he found a crack in the wall particularly interesting.

I stopped in the middle of the hallway and stood in front of him.

"Fred, what did that toad do?"

"I told you, lines!" He hesitated then continued. "She just has a different way of doing things." I noticed that he was holding his right arm behind his back out of my sight. I grabbed his forearm and wrenched his sleeve up. There were scabs covering the back of his hand and etched into the skin were the words 'I shall not cause a disturbance.'

"She can't do this!" I gasped looking up at Fred. He pulled his hand out of my grasp and continued walking down the hallway.

"Well, she did."

"You should go to Dumbledore."

"No, I won't give her the satisfaction."

"The satisfaction? Fred she can't continue doing that!"

"What would Dumbledore do anyways? Umbridge would just pass another decree. No this is between her and me."

"You're wrong" I said grabbing his left hand and pulling him towards the common room. "She's going to be dealing with me now."

"What did you have in mind, Granger?" He asked allowing me to drag him through the portrait hole.

"Well first I'm going to give you something for your hand. Wait here." I ran up to my dorm and quickly grabbed my bottle of Murtlap essence. I returned to Fred and summoned a bowl. I dumped some of the Murtlap in then made it swirl with my wand.

"Just set your hand in there." I instructed and he obliged. As soon as his hand hit the liquid he sighed in relief.

"'Mione this is amazing. What is this stuff?"

"Murtlap essence" I was glad he was feeling better, just the thought of that toad made me want to hex something.

"So what is Hermione Granger going to do to get back at Umbridge?" Fred asked his familiar twinkle back in his eyes.

"Oh, you'll see." I said mimicking his trade mark grin.

Today there was a Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. I had been planning my revenge on Umbridge for a few days now, but today was the day. I figured I had to launch my plan while Fred, George and Harry all had solid alibis. They were her three favorite scapegoats. With them in the air and hundreds watching, including Dumbledore, there was no way she could blame them. On top of that Lee was commentating so he was safe as well.

"Good luck today, you three." I said grinning at the twins and Harry. I ignored Ron altogether as he looked up hopefully at me.

"Thanks 'Mione." Harry said while nibbling on a piece of toast.

"Not that we need it." George grinned and Fred nodded in agreement.

"We've got the Boy-Who-Lived as seeker and two dashingly handsome Beater extraordinaires. Ravenclaw doesn't stand a chance."

I smiled but dug into my porridge. I kept an eye on the staff table as Umbridge sipped her tea and read the Prophet. Phase one completed. After breakfast everyone began to make their way down to the Pitch. Ginny, Neville, Luna, and I found seats pretty close to the professor's box and I kept an eye on where Umbridge sat. The door that led to the passageway behind their seats was only a few feet to my left. I waited until the match was in full swing before I muttered that I had to use the loo and snuck my way behind the professors. I was reminded of how I had done the same thing in first year when I had set Snape's cloak on fire. I found my way to right behind Umbridge's seat then pointed my wand at her bag. Her wand was sticking out of it and I muttered the incantation then watched as it glowed briefly then returned to normal. I hurried back to my seat without anyone noticing anything amiss. Phase two was now complete. Phase three would complete itself when Umbridge next cast a spell. I grinned to myself then allowed myself to enjoy the game.

Fred and George were unbeatable, no pun intended, as they chased down bludgers and sent them flying at the Ravenclaws. Two of the chasers had already lost the use of their throwing arms due to their well-placed hits. Harry was zooming around high above the stadium, but as I watched him he flew into a steep dive towards the ground. His Firebolt easily passed Cho Chand and I started to jump up and down as he pulled out of the dive the small golden snitch clasped in his hand.

The team collided in a mid-air hug as the Gryffindor supporters flood onto the field. I cheered as the team made its way down to the ground.

"Party in the Common Room!" The twins yelled. I gave Harry a hug when he found Ginny and I. The Snitch was still fluttering in his fist as he pulled Ginny into a deep kiss. Even though they had been going out since the end of last school year it was still hard to grasp they were finally together.

"Oi, Potter, just because you won us the match doesn't mean you're allowed to snog our baby sister in public!" Fred yelled and Harry pulled away grinning. We all hurried to the common room and for once I was actually planning on joining in the festivities. This was mostly because I was still high on the adrenaline rush that was coursing through me for completing my prank on the toad.

"Fancy a drink, 'Mione?" Fred asked me once we had made our way to the party. I hesitated as I glanced at the drink in his hand.

"I'm wounded!" He gasped trying to look hurt.

"Well can you blame me? I'd be mad to accept a drink from one half of the Weasley twins.

"Here." He said rolling his eyes as he uncorked a brand new butterbeer in front of me.

"Thank you." I smiled looking up at his face. His hair was plastered to his forehead from the sweat he worked up in the game, and his face was still flushed. I was mesmerized in studying his face when someone bumped into me from behind. I stumbled closer to him and he automatically put a hand on my waist to steady me. There were only a few inches separating us as I stared into his bright blue eyes.

"Careful there." He whispered in a slightly husky voice. My stomach suddenly felt like it was in my throat as I nodded wordlessly. I caught myself staring at his lips when I was awoken from my stupor by George. He threw an arm around both of our shoulders.

"I recommend staying away from the tarts; I just laced them with the Canary Creams." As he said these words a third year burst into a large yellow canary across the room. I didn't even feel the urge to reprimand him with how good I felt after pranking Umbridge.

"What no lecture from the prefect? You feeling alright Hermione?" George asked smiling.

"It would be a little hypocritical if I yelled at you for pranking today." I said with a wicked grin that I had stolen from the twins.

"What's this? Granger played a prank? On whom may I ask?" George asked looking flabbergasted.

"Umbridge." I said in a whisper. Both he and Fred did a double take at my words.

"You what, Hermione?" Fred asked. "Are you mad?"

"No, I told you she was going to be dealing with me. I expect you'll start seeing the effects of my prank tomorrow. You might not even have class." I said and wandered away from their shocked faces.

A/N

_Yay chapter two! I want to thank everyone who has favorite or alerted my story/ me as an author. The fact that there was around two hundred hits in a day made my week. Thank you to everyone that has reviewed as well. I only have eight days of high school left so it's a bit busy. But don't worry I should have an update either tomorrow or the next day. Any ideas as to what Hermione's prank is? I'll give a shout out to anyone that has a close guess. _

_Alexis_


	3. Chapter 3

I was picking at my eggs when Umbridge entered the Great Hall. She hurried up to the staff table glancing behind her every few seconds. Her hair which was usually perfectly styled, resembled hair in which an animal was nesting; her outfit which was also almost always perfectly pressed and matching was in disarray. Her skirt was wrinkled and the cardigan she was wearing contrasted the shirt she wore. Almost everyone was staring at her as she hastily took her seat and began to eat. As she stirred her tea she slopped half the contents onto the table below it.

"What do you reckon is up with Umbridge?" Harry asked me and all I could do was shrug as I held back laughter.

McGonagall had now approached Umbridge and was whispering to her. I smiled down at my plate waiting for the announcement that was sure to come in a few moments. Sure enough a few minutes later, Dumbledore stood up to address the Hall.

"Due to an issue in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, all classes will be cancelled until further notice." At the announcement the whole hall burst into applause and cheers. Dumbledore smiled a little at this but sat down and returned to his muffin.

"What did you do, Hermione?" I heard a voice whisper to me from my left.

I grinned up at Fred and George, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on, please!" They begged and I laughed.

"Fine. Well first off I gave her some of your latest invention yesterday at breakfast. Except I made the thing that she sees a cat, I also added that if she attempted to charm or jinx the cat away more would appear. As for her classroom I made it so the first spell she cast yesterday after the match was her summoning a tiger into it. I figured she wouldn't love cats so much after this little prank."

They stared at me mouths agape for a few seconds before they burst out laughing.

"You're bloody brilliant." They said in unison and I blushed.

"I think she must have a whole flock by now," George said looking up at Umbridge who was glaring at various points on the floor around her.

"How long until she calls us for detention do you think?" Fred asked.

"She can't I already thought of that. The tiger appeared while she was at the game, where you guys and Harry had solid alibis. Lee as well, she can't blame you guys."

"I think I'm in love with you." George said with the trademark Weasley grin gracing his lips. I noticed Fred was more quiet than I thought was possible for him as he stared at his toast. I left him be sensing he didn't want anyone noticing his out of character seriousness.

"I think with just one prank, Granger has already beaten our pranks for the year so far. What do you think, Freddie?"

"I think you're right, Georgie, looks like we're going to have to change that."

"Agreed."

"And now seems like the perfect time to plan one, now that we have a double period free thanks to 'Mione."

It was now three days later and still DADA classes were cancelled. Umbridge had also stopped showing up to meals. According to Fred and George they weren't exactly sure how long it would take for the cats to disappear. Ron was still under the delusions that a garden gnome like creature was following him around, but he had stopped paying attention to it. I was still furious with Ron, but we were on speaking terms again. Due to the fact that everyone had more free time on their hands now that DADA was no longer a part of their schedules, more DA meetings were being scheduled. Tonight was going to be our third one this week, I walked into the Room of Requirement accompanied by Fred and George, closely followed by Ginny, Harry and Ron.

"What did you plan on teaching tonight, Harry?" I asked him as I relaxed into a chair while we waited for everyone else to show up.

"Actually, I was thinking about the Patronus Charm."

"What? Are you sure we're ready?" I asked automatically reaching for a book to start reading about the charm.

"Yea I think we are." He said with a grin as more people filed into the room. I read hastily through the chapter on Patronus's.

"Okay, everyone listen up!" Harry called out and the group quieted to listen to him.

"I decided that today would be the day that we would start on Patronus's." He ignored the loud outcries at this and began to explain the spell.

"First thing you have to do is think of a memory, a really powerful one, one that makes you happy. Let it fill you up, then cast the spell 'Expecto Patronum'. The Patronus can only stay to protect you as long as you stay focused on that memory." Then he brought his wand out said the charm and a blindingly white-silver stag erupted from his wand and galloped around the room. Many of the group oohed and ahhed at his stag before he let it extinguish itself.

"Alright, go on and try for yourselves." He said with a grin before moving over to where Ginny was.

Within seconds the room was full of people yelling "Expecto Patronum". I was searching through my memories trying to find something worthy of a Patronus; I was coming up short however and decided on trying how it felt when Ron and Harry had become my friends. I focused on that memory and smiled as I cast the spell. To my displeasure, hardly a wisp of silver shot out of my wand. I glanced around the room, like myself only a few wisps of silver were filling the room. Suddenly a silver hare began to hop around the room.

"Well done, Luna!" Harry called out. The hare continued to hop around the room and I had a newfound determination to cast the spell now that someone other than Harry was able to do it. I searched through my memories again and decided more on a feeling rather than a memory. I focused on the feeling letting it flow through me as yelled "Expecto Patronum!" as loud as I could. Suddenly a silvery white otter began to flow around the room.

"Alright Hermione!" Harry said as he smiled at me. I allowed for my otter to swim around the room some more before I let the spell drop. I was grinning ear to ear until I realized exactly when I had felt the feeling I had used to cast the spell. I glanced over at Fred as I felt the familiar feeling in my stomach. I was looking over at Fred and watching as silver wisps consistantly flowed from his wand. Then as I watched him his own Patronus burst from his wand. I met eyes with Fred as his identical silver otter flowed around the room.

A/N

_Sorry for the lateness guys, I've been sick and pretty much in the fetal position for the last few days. But alas the update is here. A shout out to _Burnin'blackandblue _for her guess on the prank. I actually rather liked your idea on Umbridge turning herself into a toad and kinda wished I had thought of that myself. I have reached 600 hits and it makes me super excited to write more. Also thank you for all of you that favorite or alerted me or the story, you make my heart smile!_


	4. Chapter 4

It seemed like Fred and I were in our own separate dimension as we stared at each other from across the room. I wonder if he knew everything I did about Patronuses. Like for instance the fact that Harry's parents were soul mates because their Patronuses were paired animals. I wonder if he knew that the fact that he had the same Patronus as I did without ever seeing my Patronus before pretty much meant the same thing. For instance, if he had known beforehand that my Patronus was in fact an otter and he had been practicing Patronus making for years he might have been able to match mine. This was not the case however. I quickly realized however that while I might have thought I was in a different dimension with Fred and Fred alone, I was in fact in a room surrounded by people. Surrounded by people that were all staring between us, mouths agape. I shot a glance around the room then did the only thing that was logical; I bolted out of the room faster than Snape would when confronted with shampoo.

Now I had a reputation as a know-it-all, bookworm, I didn't have a reputation for being an all-star athlete. Which is probably why I had made it about two corridors before there was a stitch in my side and I could hardly breathe. I slumped against a wall and slid down it.

Bloody _hell._

What had just happened to me? Sure I had successfully made a corporal Patronus without the presence of a Dementor. I also so happened to be so called soul mates with my ex's big brother. For once in my life, I wanted to think a book was wrong. That the whole soul mates nonsense was just that, nonsense. I couldn't be Fred's soul mate, I just couldn't be. I was the bookworm, muggleborn; prefect that everyone thought was annoying. He was the prankster, pureblood, troublemaker that everyone loved. It didn't matter than I could have been harboring a small crush on him since I had met him at the Burrow years ago. There was no way he would ever even think about dating someone like me. He had girls like Angelina Johnson, beautiful, athletic, with more than manageable hair. Why would he ever even spare me a glance?

Before I knew it I felt tears running down my cheeks. I hastily wiped them away. I would not cry over this boy. I bet he didn't even know about the whole soul mate nonsense. I mean why would he; it was people like me that would know that. But no matter what I told myself, the tears wouldn't stop coming.

"Hermione?" A voice called down the hall.

_Bloody hell!_

Why is it when you're avoiding someone, it's always that person who finds you.

"'Mione, you alright? You ran out of there pretty quick." Fred loomed above me.

"I'm fine, erm, headache is all." I said keeping my face down to try and hide the tears so keen on betraying me.

"Are you sure, 'Mione?" He asked and slid down next to me.

"Yep, never better." I purposely looked the opposite direction until I felt cool fingers on my chin.

"Hermione, please don't lie to me." He said softly, wiping the tears on my cheeks away with his thumb.

"I'm not lying, I'm completely fine. I've just got something in my eye is all."

He rolled his eyes. "Both your eyes have tears in them."

"The other one is just sympathetic."

"Hmm. I see. Look there is no reason to be embarrassed."

"Why would I be embarrassed?" I asked taking a deep breath, trying to calm my heart from jumping out of my chest from the way Fred was touching my face.

"'Mione I may not be a bookworm, but I know what matching Patronuses means."

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about." I made a move to get up and escape. Perhaps to the girl's dormitory, where he wouldn't be able to follow. But he wrapped his spare hand around my wrist and pulled me back down. The hand that had been wiping away tears shifted. Before I knew what was happening, Fred had leaned forward and attached his lips to mine. His fingers wrapped through my hair and secured my face to his.

I was too shocked to even respond to his kiss before he pulled away and stood up.

"I'm sorry." He muttered before walking away from me.

I bolted to my feet faster than I thought possible for myself and ran after him.

"Fred!" I called and he paused halfway down the hall and turned towards me. I wish I had had a camera to capture his face as I grabbed his tie, pulled him down to my level and kissed him as hard as I could muster. His uptake was much quicker than mine had been, and I felt his arms circle me, pushing me up against the wall, using one of his hands to bow my body to his.

Several minutes or perhaps days later, we broke apart, both panting. I had never done anything like that before, I always thought through my decisions a hundred times over before actually executing them. For once in my life I had done the most illogical thing I could think of and acted on it. And I had to say I was glad I had.

"Hermione," He sighed, leaning his forehead against mine. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

Now that one threw me for a loop. Why in the world would Fred Weasley even think about kissing me?

"Why?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

"What do you mean?" He asked looking genuinely puzzled.

"Why would you want to kiss me, you have girls like Angelina practically falling over you. I'm nothing special."

"You know, 'Mione, for being the brightest witch of your age, you're not very smart."

I glared at him.

"I mean, come on, you're brilliant, beautiful, part of the famous golden trio. Who wouldn't want to kiss you?"

"Ronald." I said recalling what had happened just merely weeks ago.

"He's a prat and an idiot."

"I can't exactly deny that." I said but I still didn't understand why Fred would want me. Fred let go of me and drug a hand down his face.

"I'm no good at this," He sighed. "I'm good at pranks and jokes; I'm no good at explaining my feelings to people. That's what I have a twin for. Hermione… You are the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on, and I've been thinking that since I met you years ago. I would quit pranking to get the chance to go on just one date with you. Does that help explain how I feel at all?" He asked his eyes searching my own. All I could do was stare up at him as his words washed over me. Pranking? For me? I briefly debated pinching myself because there was no way this was actually happening to me. My thoughts were interrupted however when I heard George calling down the hall.

"Oi, Fred!" Fred's head snapped up and his familiar grin quickly materialized.

"Yea, George?" He asked not moving from his position inches from me.

"I was just wondering why you disappeared, alright?" George called not moving from down the corridor.

"Yea, I'm fine, I'll be back in a bit." There must have been some kind of twin telepathy going on, because George turned around and returned to the Room of Requirement without another word.

Fred's eyes shifted back to my own and his serious demeanor returned.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is will you give me a chance, 'Mione? Just one chance, that's all I'm asking for."

I took a deep breath and smiled up at him. "Of course."

_A.N._

_I am so so so so so so so sorry! I know it's been over a month since I updated, actually around two months I think and what I have done is unforgiveable, but I hope the update helps. I finally graduated high school, and with that came a lot of things to finish. I had to do graduation practice and graduation and a million and two graduation parties, and then college shit. But I'm hoping the updates will be more frequent now, I'm finally able to enjoy my short summer vacation before college starts. Thanks for sticking with me my faithful readers! _

_Love, Alexis_


	5. Chapter 5

_I keep on forgetting to do this but here's the disclaimer._

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in this story, they all belong to the Queen, J.K. Rowling. Thank you!_

_Yea just remember that for the rest of the story…_

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?" I asked turning away from my book and looking up.

"Is it true you are going on a date with Fred?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes I am." I said turning away and returning to my book.

"How could you? How could you do this to me?"

I couldn't help it, when those words fell upon my ears I just couldn't stop myself from leaping to my feet and turning towards Ron.

"How could I? How could _I_? That's really rich coming from you Ronald. Seeing as you didn't even have the decency to break up with me before going after other girls. Frankly, I don't even give a shit how you feel about my personal life, Ronald! You lost that right when you started snogging other girls while we were together!" He flinched away from me when I cursed at him.

"Hermione, I really messed up. If you could just give me ano-"

"What another chance? There is more probability of Voldemort deciding that Harry really isn't that big of a deal and giving up magic than there is in me giving you another chance. You knew when we started going out that I have two rules. One, if a guy cheats on me, we're done for good. Two, if a guy breaks up with me, we're done for good. You should have kept that in mind before you were pawing at Lavender."

"You're a bitch you know that?" He said his eyes flashing and his ears turning red.

"I'd rather be a bitch than a cheating asshole." I said turning away from him towards the girl's dormitories. I had made it about a foot when I felt an intense pain radiating down my back and throughout my body. I recognized the symptoms of a stinging hex as I fell to the floor unable to stay on my feet. I writhed on the ground trying to escape the pain.

"Hermione, are you alright?" A familiar voice asked from above me. I felt my head being lifted as I gasped for breath. Harry's familiar emerald eyes looked down at me.

I moaned as the after effects of the hex continued to wreak havoc on my body.

"Is she alright? I'll kill him." Another voice said, and soon Ginny's chocolate brown eyes joined Harry's.

"He hit her with a stinging hex, it hasn't worn off yet."

"Should we take her to Pomfrey?"

"Erg." I said as the pain finally subsided.

"Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"Yea, I'm fine." I said still gasping a little as I fought to sit up.

"Did Ron hex you?" Harry asked helping me into a sitting position.

"I assume so, we were the only one's here when I turned my back."

"I thought so, I stunned him regardless. What happened?" Ginny asked brushing some hair from my face.

"He heard about Fred and I and wasn't happy about it. We argued, I turned to go up to the dormitories and that's when I got hexed."

"For his sake he better hope the twins never hear about this." Harry said.

"Hear about what?" A pair of voices asked approaching us from the portrait hole.

"Nothing." I said sitting up as straight as I could, trying to ignore the soreness in my back.

"I'm assuming whatever it is has to do with the fact that Ickle Ronniekins is stunned over here." George said stepping over Ron.

"He hexed Hermione." Ginny sighed as she stood up and helped me to my feet.

"He did what?" Fred said his eyes flashing.

"He heard that you and I are going on a date and didn't agree, apparently. Can we please just forget about this?" I pleaded; it seemed that no matter how hard I tried to put Ron in the past he always found his way back into the present.

Fred still looked angry, but he finally nodded his head. "You're alright though?"

"Never better." I muttered rubbing my back where the hex had hit.

"Here hold on a moment." George said and bolted up the stairs, only return seconds later holding a white jar.

"Go apply this to wear the hex hit; the pain will go away within minutes." He said handing me the jar.

I looked at him curiously but accepted the jar and went to the loo to put it on. I returned to the common room with a smile on my face.

"I have no idea what that is, but it feels amazing."

"George and I invented it. You gave us the idea actually, after you helped me with my hand we decided to invent something that would heal the aftershocks of curses and hexes. Mind you it doesn't work on everything, but minor things it does."

"It's brilliant!"

"Pinch me Fred, the great Hermione Granger has complimented us twice in one month." George said grinning at me. Fred happily obliged, George yelped and rubbed his arm with a scowl. "I wasn't serious, prat." Fred ignored the insult and continued to grin.

"Well, if you two are done, I'm going to help Hermione up to bed, she needs to rest."

"Sounds like a good idea," I said yawning. "See you in the morning."

"Bright and early for our date!" Fred called after me as Ginny and I retreated up the steps to the dormitories. I rolled my eyes but continued to smile regardless.

"You're excited." Ginny accused as she followed me into the fifth year girl's dorm.

"So what if I am? Something wrong with that?" I asked looking through my trunk for some pajamas.

"Absolutely not, I'm actually glad you and Fred have finally realized you like each other."

"What are you talking about?" I asked pausing in my search.

"Just the fact that you and Fred have been making eyes at each other since you broke up with Ron. Before that even."

"That isn't true."

"Think what you like, Hermione, but I know you have the hots for my big brother."

"The whats?" I asked and Ginny rolled her eyes at me.

"Never mind, have fun with Fred tomorrow!" Ginny called as she left the room. I stared after her more confused than ever. I finally gave up trying to figure Ginny out and crawled into my bed. I pulled the curtains shut, and hit the pillow. Within seconds I was fast asleep.

"You ready Granger?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, Weasley." I said as we set off towards Hogsmeade.

He grinned at me and I felt his gloved hand grasp mine. Even through the wool I felt the warmth of his hand in mine. I smiled at the ground, trying to grab hold of the idea that I was on a date with one half of the Weasley twins. I could feel the stares we were catching as we walked down the hill.

"You alright, 'Mione?" I heard Fred ask, sounding a tad nervous.

I smiled up at him, "Perfect."

We finally made it into Hogsmeade.

"Where to first?" Fred asked glancing around at the shops.

"How about the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer then we can go to Honeydukes or Zonko's."

"Sounds like a plan." He said and led the way to the Three Broomsticks. It was already packed with Hogwarts students trying to escape the biting wind outside, but we managed to find a booth in the back. Fred ordered our drinks and I shook off the jacket I had been wearing.

"You look beautiful, 'Mione." Fred said staring at me wearing that serious face I was starting to become used to. I only saw it grace his features when he was speaking to me. His eyes would bore into mine and the smallest of smiles would turn his lips.

"Thank you," I said feeling my cheeks heat up. "You don't look too bad yourself."

It was true too. He was wearing dark washed jeans and a snug fitting long sleeved red shirt that looked good with his red hair, and made his blue eyes seem brighter. Our drinks arrived and I took a gulp of the warm liquid, which seemed to flow through my whole body and eradicate all the cold that had been lingering.

Fred and I talked a little over our drinks, discussing the latest DA meetings, and Fred's most recent pranks.

"I forgot to thank you for what you did with the Toad. Ever since your prank she hasn't bothered George or me."

"Don't mention it; something had to be done to push her off her high horse." Fred and I had finished our drinks and had ventured back out into the cold and were currently strolling down the high street. As a particularly biting wind swept through I shivered.

"Cold?" Fred asked looking down at me.

"A bit." I said crossing my arms across my chest to try to keep warm.

"Here." Fred said and handed me what looked like a small wrapped sweet.

I glanced up at him my eyebrows raised.

"Trust me?" He asked.

I looked at him again, but against my better judgment, unwrapped the small candy and popped it into my mouth.

"Oh, wow." I said as I sucked on the treat.

"Do you like it? It's a rather new invention. As long as you suck on it, you'll feel warm. We took the idea from how butterbeer tastes."

"I love it, it tastes good too."

"I'm glad you like it, I'll let George know they're a success."

"This is probably my favorite one of your inventions yet. I hate being cold." I said no longer shivering. Suddenly I felt Fred's lips on mine as his arms wrapped around me. I fervently kissed him back as butterflies erupted in my stomach. I tangled my gloved hands in his hair, not knowing why he had kissed me, but hoping it didn't end any time soon. Quicker than I liked he pulled away.

"Sorry," he said his face a few centimeters from mine. "I just really like it when you complement our inventions."

"I'll keep that in mind." I said with a Weasley-worthy smirk. He must have been rubbing off on me; the old Hermione would have just stood there and stared at him whilst blushing. Sure I was still blushing like mad, but at least I was cheeky about it.

He grinned at me, still holding me close to his body.

"Hey Fred?"

"Yea, 'Mione?"

"I love your inventions." His eyes caught mine and before I knew it his lips were back on mine, harder than before. I felt his tongue glaze my bottom lip and I hastily opened my mouth to kiss him back. Fred's kisses felt different than Ron's or even Viktor's had. It felt _right. _I sighed into the kiss and caught Fred's lip between my teeth and bit down slightly. I ran my tongue over it right after and continued to kiss him.

"God damn, 'Mione." He said pulling away as he gasped for breath.

"Something wrong? I asked confused.

"Absolutely not, quite the contrary." He said with a smirk.

"Good." I said smiling back. He pulled me closer to him and I snuggled my head into his chest.

"Want to go back to the castle?" He asked softly into my hair.

I nodded and he pulled away from me, but didn't let go of my hand.

"Good, because I'm out of sweets and it's getting colder."

We raced back up to the castle and back to the common room. I welcomed the warmth from the fire as we both collapsed back onto one of the squishy couches only a few meters from its flickering heat.

"Did you enjoy our date, Miss Granger?" Fred asked me pulling me back against him.

"I did indeed, Mr. Weasley. Did you?"

"More than I thought possible." He whispered with his serious face on. I kissed him lightly on the lips before resting my head on his chest and closing my eyes.

_A.N._

_As a special treat I decided to update twice in one day. I hope you enjoyed their first date, which I admit was a little hard to write. I was thinking about making the next chapter the date in Fred's P.O.V. Any takers? Let me know. _

_Love, Alexis_


	6. Chapter 6

"Come on, Freddie!" George called to me from farther down the passage way.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." I muttered as I jogged to catch up to my twin.

"Are you even paying any attention?"

"Hmm?" I asked, my mind stuck on the way it felt when 'Mione kissed me.

"How are we supposed to be partners in crime, when your mind is stuck thinking about a certain bookworm?"

"What?"

"Never mind! Are we going to finish this prank or not?" George asked me looking a little angry.

"Yes! Sorry I'll pay attention now." I said doing my best to shove Hermione out of my mind. This of course was fruitless, the more I tried to stop thinking about her the more she entered my mind.

"Alright, let's go then." My twin said as he slipped from behind the tapestry that opened up into the Defense corridor.

"Here?" George asked standing about halfway down the hallway.

"A little closer to the door." I whispered, being careful so the Toad wouldn't hear us. He nodded silently and set the box down. He pulled the tab sticking from the top and we bolted back into our secret passageway trying to put as much distance between the Defense corridor and ourselves. Within moments we were back in the hallway before the common room.

"Password?" The Fat Lady asked us as we reached the door.

"Fairy Lights" We chorused together and the door swung open.

"For his sake he better hope the twins never hear about this." I heard Harry say from across the room. Ron was stunned close to the couch in front of the fire.

"Hear about what?" George and I asked as we got closer to Harry, Ginny, and Hermione. Hermione was leaning up against the back of the couch obviously in pain.

"Nothing." She said sitting up straighter, but I noticed that she winced when she did.

"I'm assuming whatever it is has to do with the fact that Ickle Ronniekins is stunned over here." George said as he stepped over Ron

"He hexed Hermione." Ginny said as she stood up, she then turned and hefted Hermione to her feet.

"He did what?" I said suddenly wanting to pitch my youngest brother off the top of the Astronomy tower.

"He heard that you and I are going on a date and didn't agree, apparently. Can we please just forget about this?" Hermione pleaded looking me in the eyes. Of course I couldn't say no to 'Mione.

"You're alright though?" I asked still fantasizing about watching Ron hurtle towards the ground.

"Never better." She mumbled while rubbing her back.

"Here hold on a moment." George said as he bolted up the stairs. He returned holding a jar I knew to hold a healing ointment

"Go apply this to wear the hex hit; the pain will go away within minutes." He said handing Hermione the ointment.

Hermione looked a little suspicious, but accepted the jar and went to the loo to apply it. I held my tongue when the thought occurred to offer to help. Something told me she wouldn't appreciate my comment.

"I have no idea what that is, but it feels amazing." She said as she returned with a huge smile on her face. A smile that literally made my heart skip a beat.

"George and I invented it. You gave us the idea actually, after you helped me with my hand we decided to invent something that would heal the aftershocks of curses and hexes. Mind you it doesn't work on everything, but minor things it does." I said mesmerized by her smile and eyes.

"It's brilliant!" She said looking between us. I fought valiantly against the will to kiss her after she complimented me or rather us.

"Pinch me Fred, the great Hermione Granger has complimented us twice in one month." George said grinning at Hermione. I happily pinched him half because he asked and half because of the way he was looking at Hermione.

"I wasn't serious, prat." I heard him mutter; I ignored him and continued to smile at Hermione.

"Well, if you two are done, I'm going to help Hermione up to bed, she needs to rest." Ginny said as she kissed Harry goodnight. I didn't even care at the point. Hermione had complimented our invention.

"Sounds like a good idea, see you in the morning!" Hermione said as she climbed the steps.

"Bright and early for our date!" I called after her, I doubt I'd be able to sleep tonight, the earlier I could see her the better.

"What do you reckon we should do with him?" Harry asked nodding toward Ron.

"Pitch him from the Astronomy Tower?" I asked hopefully. George grinned, but shook his head.

"Mum would be furious."

"She might not even notice, we can throw a maroon jumper on the ghoul, it's a perfect plan." I grinned imagining the possibilities. George continued to grin and even Harry was smirking. Harry however levitated him up to their dorm, preventing from making him into a pancake. I followed George up into our dormitory. Lee was fast asleep, and our other roommate Mitch was snoring as well. I pulled on pajama bottoms and pulled off my shirt, George did the same.

"Am I going to have to stun you to make you fall asleep?" He asked as I fell back onto my pillows.

"No, I'll work on some Wheezes." I said pulling a notebook from my nightstand.

"Seriously, Freddie, you have to get some sleep. Don't want to be a zombie for Hermione tomorrow. Here." He said passing me a small vial.

"What is it?"

"Dreamless Sleep Potion, just drink it."

I didn't exactly want a dreamless sleep, I enjoyed dreaming about Hermione.

"Erg, fine," George passed me another vial; this one was blue as opposed to white. "It's just the sleep part, you can dream about whatever you like." I happily uncorked the bottle and tossed him back the other.

"Thanks, Georgie."

"No problem." He mumbled closing the curtains around his bed.

I pulled my own shut and fell backward again as the potion began to take effect.

"Oh, God what should I wear?" I fretted searching through my trunk tossing clothes around the room.

"Just wear the red one!" George said exasperated.

"What if she doesn't like the red? Doesn't it clash with my hair? What about pants?" I asked still searching through the trunk.

"She's a Gryffindor for Merlin's sake, wear the fucking red shirt or I'll hex you. As for pants just wear those trousers over there." He pointed to a pair of jeans I had thrown onto Lee's bed.

"They're so muggle though!" I said going over to them and holding them up to myself.

"She's muggleborn! Just wear them and the red, she'll love it." He said as he acted out slamming his head repeatedly against the wall.

"Fine!" I said and pulled them both on. I hastily tripped over to the mirror to see how they looked; I had to admit George was right they looked pretty good. As good as it was gonna get anyway. The red shirt didn't clash with my hair and the trousers made the red look brighter, and more Gryffindor.

"You look dashing; now get your arse down stairs you're supposed to be meeting her in five." George said steering me towards the door. I yelped and bound down the steps, I couldn't be late to a date I had been hoping for for years.

We had agreed on meeting in the entrance hall since she liked to go to the library on Saturday mornings. Why she wanted to spend her Saturday morning in the Library as opposed to sleeping or eating was beyond me, but I'd let her do her thing. I caught sight of her as I descended the stairs. She was wearing a black jacket that buttoned across her chest with red and gold gloves. She was also wearing the same kind of trousers I was, except they were a lighter color than mine were. Her curls were pinned back away from her face, and like usual she wasn't wearing makeup. 'Mione didn't need makeup; she was perfect without it in my opinion.

Her eyes met mine as I approached her and they sparkled. I could never get used to the beauty of her golden eyes.

"You ready Granger?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, Weasley." She said as we stepped outside.

I grinned and slipped my hand into hers. George had thrown me a jacket and gloves as I thundered down the steps earlier, yelling something about not freezing to death. I glanced over at Hermione as she smiled at the ground. I tried to figure out what was so magnificent about the grass, but came up empty.

"You alright, 'Mione?" I asked, my voice slightly betrayed how nerve wracking it was to be walking towards Hogsmeade with the girl of my dreams.

She looked up at me with that perfect smile and those perfect eyes, and that perfect face. She read my mind as she muttered, "Perfect."

"Where to first?" I asked as we entered Hogsmeade.

"How about the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer then we can go to Honeydukes or Zonko's."

"Sounds like a plan." I said pulled her into the Three Broomsticks. It was pretty packed, and I didn't fail to notice the amount of looks we were getting as we searched for a booth. We finally found one and I ordered us some butterbeers. When we settled into the booth, Hermione pulled off her jacket revealing a sea green shirt that made her look stunning. My mouth became dry as I stared at her from across the table. I swallowed a few times before complimenting her.

"You look beautiful, 'Mione." I said looking into her eyes.

"Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself." She said as red filled her cheeks. I felt my lips smile more at her adorable blush.

We talked a bit as we drank out butterbeers; mostly about the DA or George and I's latest antics.

"I forgot to thank you for what you did with the Toad. Ever since your prank she hasn't bothered George or me." I said remembering her brilliant prank.

"Don't mention it; something had to be done to push her off her high horse." She shrugged as we stepped outside again. I sucked lightly on one of the sweets I had brought with me but noticed Hermione was shivering.

"Cold?" I asked, resisting the urge to pull her closer and keep her warm.

"A bit." She said letting go of my hand to cross her arms across her chest, I guessed in an attempt to stay warmer.

"Here." I pulled a sweet from my pocket, I had completely forgot that I hadn't given her one already.

She looked up at me looking suspicious.

"Trust me?" I asked searching her face.

She glanced at me again, but finally popped the candy into her mouth.

"Oh, wow." She said as the sweet took effect.

"Do you like it? It's a rather new invention. As long as you suck on it, you'll feel warm. We took the idea from how butterbeer tastes." I explained as we continued down the lane.

"I love it, it tastes good too." She said smiling again.

"I'm glad you like it, I'll let George know they're a success."

"This is probably my favorite one of your inventions yet. I hate being cold." She said but this time I couldn't control myself as I pulled her into an alley out of the way of the crowd and crushed my lips to hers. Her hands tangled in my hair as she kissed me back. I finally found the will to step away trying to remind myself that it wasn't proper to kiss her out of nowhere like that.

"Sorry, I just really like it when you complement our inventions." I breathed still extremely close to her face, and her lips that I ached to kiss again.

"I'll keep that in mind." She said smirking at me, copying a well-practiced grin of my own. I smiled back, very aware that my arms were still around her.

"Hey Fred?" She asked looking up at me.

"Yea, 'Mione?" I asked lost in those beautiful golden eyes again.

"I love your inventions." She whispered and I felt myself smile more before I pulled her mouth to mine. Almost on its own accord I felt my tongue dart out and caress her bottom lip. She sighed as we continued to kiss then I felt her lightly bite my lip before running her tongue across it softly. I had never felt this way while kissing a girl, and I wasn't ashamed to admit I had kissed more than a couple girls. 'Mione's kiss was different, but in an amazing way.

"God damn, 'Mione." I gasped as I finally pulled away.

"Something wrong? She asked as her brow furrowed in distress.

"Absolutely not, quite the contrary." I gasped trying to catch my breath.

"Good"

I pulled her closer to me and her head nuzzled into my chest.

"Want to go back to the castle?" I asked feeling her shiver again. I felt her head nod and regretfully pulled away from her, I kept her hand. "Good, because I'm out of sweets and it's getting colder."

I raced her back to the castle, finally realizing just how cold it was without George and I's newest sweet. We finally collapsed down into one of the squishy couches in front of the fire.

"Did you enjoy our date, Miss Granger?" I asked lying back against the couch and pulling Hermione closer to my body.

"I did indeed, Mr. Weasley. Did you?" Hermione asked. The fire flickered in her eyes making them literally light up.

"More than I thought possible." I whispered still lost in her eyes. Her face turned towards me and she kissed me lightly on the lips before snuggling down into my chest and closing her eyes. I wrapped my arms tightly around her, and rested my head on top of hers. George winked at me as he entered the common room, his face still red from the cold. He nodded before continuing up to the dormitories.

No one bothered us as we lay on the couch. Hermione was sleeping silently on my chest her eyes darting underneath her lids. Ron entered the room holding hands with the Brown girl. His smile fell from his face when he noticed on the couch. I think he almost was about to come over and say something before Harry cuffed him behind the head and pulled him across the common room. Ginny could do nothing but smirk at us as she sat in Harry's lap.

I honestly had never been as happy as I was as I lay there with Hermione in my whole life. If this is what it felt like to be with Hermione than I was never going to let her go, I would do everything in my power to make her the happiest girl on the planet. I just had to hope she felt even a fraction of the way I felt about her, towards me. Only time would tell, I thought as I closed my eyes and snuggled closer to 'Mione.

_A.N._

_Well I hope that wasn't too horrible. I'm used to writing from a girl's perspective and I've never honestly written from a guys before, especially about someone they like. I kinda pulled ideas from the way my boyfriend treats me and talks to me, so I hope it worked, his name made it into this chapter as well. I wanna thank you guys for the outstanding feedback and attention this story is getting. Almost a thousand hits in just one day. Thanks for sticking with me guys, I'll try to update again before I go on vacation this weekend!_

_Love, Alexis _


	7. Chapter 7

I woke up suddenly, like someone had slammed a door or dropped a book next to my head. My eyes darted around the common room and I was momentarily confused as to why I was waking up here instead of in my dorm. My eyes didn't find anything that would have woken me up as suddenly as I had and I moved to sit up. I then noticed the arms that were circled around my body; strong, well-muscled arms that I knew to belong to only two people in Hogwarts. Only one of which would be holding me. I shifted my head to look at Fred, who was still sleeping, snoring slightly. His snore wasn't as obnoxious as Ron's was; it was softer, little more than a heavy breathing. I grinned and lay back into his arms again.

My eyes searched the common room, it was dark now; the fire that had once been roaring reduced to shimmering embers. We were the only ones left and judging by the moon outside the window, it was very very late. I was glad to have Fred's arms around me, without the fire going it was pretty cold in the common room. Even though it was dark, the common room was still welcoming. Even though I would never admit it to anyone except maybe Fred or Harry, I had a small fear of the dark. Or rather I had a fear of the things that lurked in the dark. The common room was one of those places that didn't frighten me no matter how dark it was. I always felt safe here, especially when I had Fred's arms around me.

"'Mione?" I heard Fred whisper.

"Yea?"

"What are you doing awake?"

"I just woke up, go back to sleep."

"Only if you do."

I smiled at this and turned to look at him, rotating in his grasp. He smiled back at me, his teeth glinting even in the dark.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked softly, his eyes searching mine.

"The dark."

"What about it?"

"I was making the connection that I'm not really scared of the dark, but what hides in it."

"I feel like darkness has a reputation it doesn't deserve," He said with a thoughtful look on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that people always say 'I'm afraid of the dark', when really they are what you just said. They're afraid of what's in it. They're afraid of the mystery of it. They lose control in the darkness, they have no idea what's there because they can't see it. Just because you can't see something doesn't mean you should be afraid of it. You never hear people saying they're afraid of the light or the sun, because they have a handle of everything in it. The light bathes everything so there is no mystery, nothing to guess about. I feel like people should give the dark a chance, realize that just because they aren't in control of everything doesn't mean that they should be afraid of it."

I had never heard Fred so serious about something before. He looked down at me his serious demeanour vanishing to be replaced by his usual smirk.

"You look surprised, Granger, what didn't think I was capable of anything but pranking and Quidditch?"

"No, I had just never thought about it that way."

He nodded. "Most people don't."

I set my head on his chest again and I felt one of his hands lazily brushing up and down my back, unknowingly sending tingles throughout my entire body.

"Go to sleep, 'Mione," Fred whispered. I happily obliged as I sank back into sleep.

(F-H)

When I woke up again it was bright out and someone was poking me incessantly in the back.

"Hermione, for Merlin's sake wake up!"

"Stop it." I moaned weakly batting away the hand that was poking me.

"Hermione you need to wake up before everyone else is awake, or you'll never hear the end of it."

I groaned again and tried to snuggle back into Fred's chest.

"I didn't want to do this," Ginny said right before I was pushed onto the floor.

"Wass goin on?" Fred asked from out crumpled heap on the ground.

"Your lovely sister decided to wake us up," I said untangling myself and sitting up.

"I'm trying to help you. Do you guys really want to deal with everyone talking about you? Or worse having Ron find you guys like that?"

"I hate when you're right." I muttered standing up.

"I almost always am."

"Come on, Fred, up and at 'em." I said shoving his shoulder.

"I'm good here." He mumbled trying to hide his face in the threadbare carpet.

"I'll get George." Ginny threatened and he sat straight up.

"I'm awake!" He rubbed his eyes and squinted up at us. "What time is it anyways?"

"Around seven."

"Ugh, I haven't been up this early on a Sunday since I was a first year."

"Same." I said with a glare at Ginny.

"God, last time I try to help." She said returning my glare.

"Well, since we're up fancy some breakfast?" Fred asked standing up and stretching.

"Why not?" I asked and Ginny nodded.

Fred led the way out of the common room, he slipped his hand into mine and I grinned. I could definitely get used to this. I caught Ginny smirking at our entwined fingers, but she didn't say anything.

Once we entered the Great Hall I could feel eyes on Fred and me. There weren't a ton of people awake this early, but there was still a fair amount. Enough to make me feel uncomfortable anyways. Fred of course didn't even notice everyone staring at us, or if he did he didn't make any comment about it. As we sat down I could swear I even felt Dumbledore's eyes on us, but when I looked up at the Staff Table he was engrossed in what looked to be a muggle magazine on knitting patterns.

"So what are you up to today?" Ginny asked.

"I actually have Quidditch practice at eleven. Want to watch?" He asked turning to me.

I had never been interested in Quidditch whatsoever, but I figured I'd go to make Fred happy. Ginny offered to come with me, to watch Harry and so I wouldn't be alone.

"Excellent!" Fred said looking ecstatic.

(F-G)

"I would have never believed it." A voice drawled behind me and I frowned. I so didn't want to deal with Malfoy right now. I ignored him and continued down the hall. I had to get back to the common room to meet Fred, and then we were going to walk down to the Pitch together.

"Don't ignore me you filthy little Mudblood." He snapped and in spite of trying to ignore him I turned around at his words.

"What do you want, ferret?" His pale cheeks reddened a bit at my words but he continued.

"I would have never believed another male had been crazy enough to touch you, even if it is a blood traitor."

"Shove off; don't you have some first years to terrorize?" I asked trying to move past him and his two brainless cronies.

"Right now I feel like reminding you of where Mudbloods belong." He said pointing his wand at my feet. Before I could do anything they were locked together and I fell to the floor. "At my feet."

"Wanna know where you belong, ferret?" I heard a voice say and I struggled to look up. "With my foot up your ass." With a flick of his wand Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were thrown backward and were now hanging upside down from the ceiling. There robes hung down covering their faces. Malfoy began to curse at Fred and struggle to find his wand, with another flick Malfoy was silenced and his wand was in Fred's hand.

"Keep away from her, understand?" He called up dropping the wand and kicking it into a corner.

"Alright, 'Mione?" He asked pulling me to my feet and unlocking my legs with yet another swish of his wand.

"Yea I'm fine." I said brushing the dust from my clothes.

"Good, let's get out of here before the Toad or Filch come 'round." He pulled me behind a tapestry and before I knew it we were outside the common room.

"You're going to have to teach me some of these passageways. I thought Harry knew them all."

"Harry knows about a quarter of all them." He said giving the password and stepping through the portrait hole.

"Hermione what took you so long?" Ginny asked as we entered.

"Had an issue with Malfoy." Fred said answering for me and sharing a look with his twin. Something told me that a simple hanging from the ceiling wasn't the last Malfoy was going to hear of the twins.

"Angelina is going to kill us if we don't get down there quick." Harry said shouldering his broom and leading the group back through the portrait hole.

"Too right you are, Harry." George said as we hustled down to the Pitch.

When we finally made our way down, Ginny and I separated from the rest of the guys and climbed into the stands.

"What happened with Malfoy?"

"Oh, just the normal stuff. He calls me a Mudblood, and then goes on about how I don't know my proper place."

"Good thing Fred showed up." I nodded only half listening now that the team was zooming onto the field; Fred and George wielding Beater's bats. For the next hour and a half I watched Fred and George practice hitting Bludgers at targets, and practice different manoeuvres that Angelina drilled them through.

"They're pretty good." I said returning a wave from Fred.

"Unbeatable." Ginny said quoting the twin's favourite adjective for themselves. "You really fancy him, don't you?"

"What?" I asked tearing my eyes away from Fred to look at Ginny.

"Fred, you really fancy him."

"Of course I fancy him."

"No I mean you really _fancy _him fancy him."

I blushed at her words but nodded. "I really do."

My thoughts about Fred were interrupted when Ginny stood up and screamed.

"Harry!" She yelled and before I could even comprehend what was happening, Fred and George were bolting for Harry, who was falling through the air unconscious.

_A.N._

_Yea, I know I'm sort of evil. Sorry for this chapter it was a bit of filler but I had to show a little Fred/Hermione interaction before things got heated up. I want to thank my amazing readers for everything; I hit five thousand views today. I got pretty excited. I also found this cool little thing on Word which makes my language go from English (U.S.) to English (U.K.) which helped with spelling and grammar of certain words. I am a proud American attempting to write in a British way so I'm sorry for any actual Brits out there who are reading my sorry attempt to sound like J.K. Rowling. Well keep reading, and if you really want to make my day, review! _

_Love, Alexis _


	8. Chapter 8

"Arresto Momentum!" I screamed pointing my wand at Harry's falling body and immediately it slowed so Fred and George were able to safely catch him and hold him between there brooms. Ginny and I started to sprint down the steps of the stands trying to get to the pitch as fast as possible. We finally made it down, Fred and George had set Harry down onto the grass. The rest of the team were all crowded around him, but moved apart like the Red Sea once Ginny and I approached.

"What happened?" Ginny wailed lifting Harry's head into her lap.

"He was circling the Pitch looking for the Snitch like usual and he just fell." Fred said looking scared.

"Someone go get Dumbledore, don't let the Toad hear about this either." I said and Katie Bell hopped on her broom and rocketed off toward the castle.

Even unconscious Harry looked troubled; his face was pulled into a grimace which led me to believe he was caught in Voldemort's head. Ginny was whispering quietly to him, but her words did nothing to rouse him.

"Do you reckon he's going to be alright?" Ron said, I had almost forgotten he was there.

"You know Harry, Ron; he can't go a month without falling unconscious at least once." Fred said trying to lighten the mood.

"That does seem to be the way, doesn't it?" A soft voice said behind us and we all turned. Katie had been incredibly fast in finding Dumbledore. He moved forward towards Harry, lifted his wand and suddenly Harry was floating on a stretcher.

"Why don't you all follow me up to the castle, and have some lunch?" Dumbledore asked but it was more of an order. We all followed him silently up to the castle, Harry still lying motionless in the air.

"Ah, Miss Weasley I must insist you eat lunch with your classmates, but I assure you after I have returned to the Great Hall you may go up and visit Mr. Potter in the Hospital Wing." He said to Ginny when she tried to follow him to the Hospital Wing. She nodded glumly and joined us in the Great Hall.

"What do you think is wrong?" George asked as he plopped down onto the bench.

"Who knows when it comes to Harry?" Angelina said ripping into a roll.

"I'm sure he'll come 'round soon enough. He hasn't spent more than a night in the hospital wing since after the Tournament." Fred said with a smile.

We continued to eat in silence, after what seemed like days, Dumbledore returned to the Hall. His eyes found our little group and nodded. In a single movement we were all on our feet and practically sprinting to the Hospital Wing.

"Harry!" Ginny yelled as soon as we entered the Wing.

Harry was sitting up in bed, chugging back a potion Madam Pomfrey was forcing him to drink. He smiled at Ginny once he had finished grimacing.

"You alright, mate?" Ron asked as we all crowded around his bed.

"Never better. Pomfrey said I can leave once the potion comes into effect."

"What happened?" Angelina asked.

"I was just a bit dehydrated, nothing to worry about." He said studying his sheets. On reflex I met eyes with Ron. We both knew that wasn't what had made him pass out, but like we always did, we kept our mouths shut. I didn't notice Fred's eyes darting between Ron and me as we shared a look.

"Potter, I suppose you can go as long as you promise to come back tomorrow morning before classes." Madam Pomfrey said shoving George and Angelina out of the way.

"I promise." He said and swung his legs out from under the blankets.

"I'm fine." He whispered to Ginny touching her forehead with his own. Meanwhile he met eyes with Ron and me and nodded. Outside, I smiled; on the inside I was freaking out. What did this mean? Was Voldemort planning something? Just when I thought my worst issue was the Toad, and my life was actually setting into normalcy, this bomb has to be dropped.

As we left the Hospital Wing I felt Fred's hand grab mine. I smiled up at him but he was glaring at Ron a few feet away. I rolled my eyes, but continued to grip Fred's hand.

"Fancy a walk?" Fred asked me softly and I nodded. We veered away from the group and set off towards the grounds. Fred led me outside towards the lake. It was a little bit cold, but it wasn't too bad.

"Everything alright?" I asked looking up at Fred who was unusually pensive.

"Yep." He said not looking at me. I sighed and stopped walking.

"Look, Fred, if you're honestly going to get jealous over me looking at Ronald then this isn't going to work. We've been best friends for years, and even though he hurt me, we're still Harry's best friends."

Fred looked me up and down a few times before sighing. "I'm being a git aren't I?"

"A bit, yea." I said with a smile.

"Will you be my girlfriend, 'Mione?" He asked suddenly, pulling me to his body and wrapping his arms around me.

"Of course." I snuggled into his chest, breathing in the smell of him. He smelled like a cross between musky cologne, sweat, and another smell I couldn't quite identify but I knew I had smelled it before.

"You know we're never going to hear the end of it." I said my head still buried in his chest.

"Hmm?"

"We'll never hear the end of it, as soon as the school knows it's all anyone's going to be talking about."

"Who cares?"

"I'm used to people talking about me, it comes with being Harry's best friend. Are you okay with it though?"

"Hermione, I'm one half of the Weasley twins, we're people's favourite subject after you three. And besides that I don't give a fuck, I'm with you and that's all that matters."

I reached up and grabbed Fred's face bringing it down to my own. Fred moved one of his hands up to tangle in my hair, and the other moved to the small of my back and pushed my body closer to his. Kissing Fred was something I'd probably never get used to. He was gentle, but fierce at the same time, and every time we kissed my own personal firework show went off behind my eyelids. I had read a library full of muggle and wizard books alike, and knew that the fact that it felt this way was probably the most cliché thing ever. I didn't really give a shit though. We finally broke apart several lifetimes later.

"We should, er, get back inside before people worry." Fred gasped and I nodded silently trying to catch my breath. I knew I had a date with Harry and Ron tonight to discuss what had happened, but that wouldn't be until everyone had gone to bed and the common room was empty.

"I'm just going to give you a warning now, I might have to spend more time with Harry and Ron now."

"What?"

"I'm going to have to spend more time with them."

"Why?" He asked. He didn't look upset, just curious.

"I just do." I said. I wanted to tell him why, I wanted to tell him everything, but this was Harry's secret to tell not mine.

He nodded. "It has to do with what happened today, doesn't it?"

I stayed silent and continued to walk.

"It's okay, 'Mione, I understand this is Harry's thing right?" I nodded feeling relived that he had figured it out without me saying anything.

"Well, if you guys ever need George and I's expertise, we're glad to help the cause." He said kissing my forehead.

"Thanks, you're amazing."

"I've been told." He said wearing the Weasley smirk.

We had made it up to the common room now. Right before he gave the password he pulled me into a swift kiss. It ended as quick as it started and I was left staring at Fred as he pulled me through the portrait hole.

Harry, Ginny, Ron, and George were all sitting in chairs around the fire playing a game of Exploding Snap. As we walked towards them the cards exploded and they all burst out laughing as Ron rubbed his face where his eyebrows were slightly singed.

"Having fun?" Fred asked as we sat down on the only available seat left. I made myself comfortable in his lap, something that didn't go unnoticed by anyone in the group.

"Yea, loads." Ron mumbled rubbing what was left of his eyebrows.

"He's just angry because he's lost every hand so far." Ginny said smirking over at her brother.

"Nuh uh." He grumbled.

"Do you guys want to play?" Harry asked as he shuffled the cards. We agreed and we all played until we were the last ones left in the common room.

"You guys need to be alone, right?" Fred whispered in my ear and I nodded.

"I am exhausted!" Fred said, sitting up to stretch. "Come on, George let's go." George didn't question his twin and stood up.

"Goodnight, 'Mione." Fred whispered before kissing me lightly. He and George then scampered up the stairs towards the 7th year's dorm.

"I guess that's my cue to leave too, huh?" Ginny asked crawling off of Harry's lap.

"I love you!" Harry said kissing her goodnight softly. I heard her whisper the words back then traipse up the stairs to her dorm.

We all waited silently until we heard her close the door behind her.

"Alright, Harry, what really happened?"

"He's planning something." He said looking up at Ron and me. "Everything was normal at practice today, and then I had this stabbing pain where my scar is. I tried to ignore it, but the vision crossed my eyes and I guess I was sucked into it. I didn't really have a choice."

"What did you tell Dumbledore?"

"I tried to pass it off that I was dehydrated, but he knew I was lying. I have to take Occlumency with Snape for now on."

"What's Occlumency?" Ron asked.

"It's the practice of closing your mind so outside parties can't look through it, or read it." I said immediately.

"So you're going to have to take lessons with Snape every week to try and keep Voldemort out of your head?" Ron asked and Harry nodded looking miserable.

"What did you see when you were in Voldemort's head?" I asked. This wasn't the first time this had happened this year. It happened whenever Voldemort was particularly angry or focused on something, Harry would be sucked into Voldemort's head and he would see through his eyes.

"I'm not sure really, he was in a house or rather a mansion or manor. He was surrounded by a bunch of people, he referred to them by the names he did last year." Harry said referencing the night Voldemort returned. "Malfoy's parents were there. Voldemort was talking to them about something he was planning. A way they could prove themselves to him since they were too cowardly to search for him. I have no idea what it was, but it's big. I have half a mind to just forgo the Occlumency lessons so that I can figure out what he's up to."

"Harry you can't! If you can get into his mind, he can surely get into yours. Do you really want him popping in while you're making out with Ginny or something?"

"Really?" Ron asked me scowling in disgust.

"Grow up Ronald." I said turning back to Harry.

"I guess you're right, Hermione." Harry agreed rubbing his temples.

"But what if whatever he's planning affects me anyway? Like if he's planning on trying something against the Order or something."

"Then we have to trust the Order to figure it out, Harry you're fifteen. It isn't your sole responsibility to defeat Voldemort."

Harry collapsed back into the couch, groaning. "It feels like it is though."

"We're here for you Harry. So is Ginny, so are Fred and George, so are Luna and Neville. You aren't in this alone, we're in this together."

"Thanks 'Mione." Harry said standing up to hug me.

_A.N_.

_Hello again my faithful readers. So it's happened, they're officially together! Yay *throws confetti* And things are finally getting interesting. Just to let you guys know I actually do like Ron, and I sometimes ship him and Hermione. But hardly ever I prefer Fremione or even Dramione. Hope it's okay with everyone that the Ron bashing is mostly over. So the plot turns away from the book here in the nest chapter and again I hope you guys still stick with me, but if not thanks anyways. I got a record amount of reviews last chapter and it made my day. So ya know I wouldn't say no to more reviews :D Well until next time!_

_Love, Alexis_


	9. Chapter 9

"Come on. 'Mione." Fred said pulling on my hand impatiently, reminding me of a five year old.

"I'm coming!" I said catching up to him as we ran towards the DA meeting we were supposed to be at. We had gotten a little caught up in a hidden passageway, and lost track of time. We finally stumbled into the Room of Requirement laughing, a few minutes later.

"Thanks for showing up, you two." Harry said. He was trying to look stern, but I noticed the smirk he was trying to fight off. "As I was saying today we are going to be practicing duelling. I know we've never really tried this kind of thing before, but better late than never. I'm going to split you guys up based on what I feel would be your best match in skill." There was some grumbling at this, but Harry was a pro at ignoring grumble and continued on like he hadn't even noticed.

Harry climbed on top of a chair so that we could hear him better.

"Alright, first up I want Fred and George over here." The two mentioned grinned at each other and moved over to a corner. It was no surprise they would be matched, they were identical in almost everything but their fingerprints. "Next I want Hermione and Ginny over there." I was actually surprised that I was paired with Ginny; we had completely different duelling tactics, but Harry knew best when it came to Defence Against the Dark Arts. "Dean and Alicia, Ron and Luna, Neville and Parvati, Marietta and Cho, Justin and Hannah." I tuned out then as Harry continued to list names.

"What made you and Fred late?" Ginny whispered to me with a knowing smirk.

"Got lost." I said acting as though I was trying to concentrate on Harry.

"Uh huh, you two got lost? Pardon me if it's hard to believe that Fred who knows this school better than the back of his hand, got lost."

The only reply she got from me was a shrug. Luckily at that point Harry decided it was time to start and I was saved from more of the third degree.

"I only want one duel going on at a time, we wouldn't want any spells going astray and hitting someone else. Any volunteers?" The twins leaped at Harry's words and situated themselves across from each other in the middle of the room.

Fred and George bowed to each other, then paced the length of the floor away from each other than turned backward.

"On the count of three. One. Two. Three!" Harry called and immediately the twins were casting spells at each other. I always seemed to forget that the two of them were seventh years, and very skilled fighters. I had never seen a duel like the one I was watching. The twins as stated were seventh years, and seventh years were expected to do all spell work nonverbally. Doing this made it harder for your opponent to counter whatever you were sending at them, that didn't seem to faze these two since neither had yet to land a spell. Finally, with a flash of blinding yellow light, George flew back across the room to land on a pile of pillows Harry had situated.

Fred ran over to George's unconscious body with a grin on his face. He knelt next to his twin and placed the tip of his wand on his chest. Within a few seconds George sat up.

"Good job, Freddie, that was a good duel. " Fred helped him to his feet and turned towards the group. The majority of us were all staring at them open mouthed.

"Explain to me why I'm teaching and you guys aren't?" Harry asked.

Their lips quirked up into identical grins.

"Harry you're a better teacher than the two of us put together, we may know some stuff when it comes to duelling and nonverbal spells, but you could still kick our asses." George said as he and Fred re-joined the group.

"Hermione and I will go next!" Ginny yelled pulling me to the front. We too bowed, and then paced away from each other. Ginny was a good fighter, and her spells were powerful, but she always went for the most obvious win. If I were to stand a chance I'd have to duel a less logical fight. Something I wasn't accustomed to. I turned back towards Ginny and waited for Harry to count down.

"One. Two. Three!" He called out again and immediately we were fighting. Ginny was a fierce fighter, but she also wasn't aware of all the spells I was. I easily dodged her Bat Bogey Hex and countered with a stupefy. She blocked it with a shield charm, but I had her on the defensive as the room began to heat up from the spells we were throwing. Ginny cast a bright purple jinx I had never seen before and I flew backward. The spell had hit my arm and I noticed a stabbing pain in my arm. We weren't supposed to be throwing serious jinxes, but it seemed Ginny was getting frustrated. Unluckily for me she had hit my wand arm. I was in a tough spot, but I moved my wand from my right hand to my left and continued fighting. Pulling out the stops, I threw a curse I had seen when teaching Harry last year for the tournament. It was meant to make the person incapable of using both arms for a brief period of time, thus unable to fight. The spell hit her square on and I quickly cast an Expelliarmus and caught her wand in my left hand.

"Hermione wins." Harry said as I bent over trying to catch my breath.

"What did you do Hermione, I can't move my arms!" Ginny screamed looking murderous.

"Relax, it'll wear off in a few seconds."

"What did _you _do, Ginny?" Fred asked sounding very angry next to me. He softly grabbed my right arm which was apparently bleeding pretty heavily. Something I hadn't noticed, but definitely explained why I felt so light headed.

"Shit." She said as I slumped into Fred's arms.

"I don't feel so good." I said as the room began to take on a hazy quality.

"She needs the Hospital Wing, now!" George said looking the most serious I've ever seen. "She's losing too much blood."

I felt myself lift into the air and vaguely realized that Fred was carrying me. My arm was hurting a lot and I felt warmth spreading down my arm as Fred ran towards the Hospital Wing.

"Madam Pomfrey!" George yelled as we entered the ward.

"What happened? Set her down!" Fred set me down onto a bed lightly, and Madam Pomfrey appeared above me. She was waving her wand in dizzying patterns, and I closed my eyes feeling extremely tired.

"Miss Granger keep your eyes open." She ordered as she continued the dizzying ministrations.

"Look at me 'Mione." Fred said and I looked over at him.

"My arm hurts." I said, but it came out kind of slurred.

"Hermione!" I heard three different voices yell, and I tried to find where they were coming from.

"I can't have you all here right now!" Pomfrey yelled still waving her wand above me.

"Get out of here! This is your fault!" Fred bellowed leaving my bedside.

"I'm sorry 'Mione, I'm so sorry!" I heard Ginny yelled, but then the ward was empty except for Madam Pomfrey and me.

"I do believe I asked you all to leave, Mr. Weasley."

"I have to stay here with her, I'll keep her awake." Fred said grabbing my left hand.

"You're going to be alright, 'Mione. Understand?" He asked me and I nodded. My eye site was starting to get tinged with black dots. I attempted to blink them away.

"Fred, I'm tired." I said closing my eyes again.

"No, 'Mione, you can't sleep yet. Look at me." He whispered gripping my hand more firmly.

"Okay, Fred, I'll try."

"No, you will." He corrected me.

I kept my eyes on Fred as Pomfrey worked steadily on my arm.

"Drink this, Miss Granger." She said holding a potion in her hand. I raised my left arm to grab it, but almost slopped it down myself. Fred quickly pulled it from my grasp and lifted it to my mouth. I chugged the potion as fast as I could because of how foul it tasted. I made a face as I finished it, but as soon as I swallowed I suddenly didn't feel sleepy anymore.

"That feels better." I said sitting up against the pillows behind me. Fred grinned looking immensely relieved.

"Now I need to know, Miss Granger, how did this happen?" Madam Pomfrey asked and I stared at the sheets.

"I fell, cut myself." I mumbled.

"Uh huh," She nodded. "Then why did Miss Weasley come in here yelling apologies?"

"We were out by the lake, messing around and she pushed me and I fell. Cut my arm on a rock down there. It was all an unlucky accident." I said looking up at her trying to seem like I wasn't lying through my teeth.

Madam Pomfrey didn't look like she believed me in the least, but she didn't question me anymore.

"Drink this in about a half hour." She said setting another potion onto a table beside my bed, before vanishing back into her office.

I turned to look at my arm. Pomfrey had firmly bandaged it and it was no longer bleeding profusely onto everything. My clothes were however still soaked. I turned to see that the front of Fred's shirt was too covered in my blood.

"How ya feeling?" He asked brushing a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Brilliant." I said with an eye roll.

"You shouldn't have done that."

"Done what?"

"Defended Ginny like that, she deserved whatever punishment she got. We were duelling, but she got out of hand."

"It's easy to when you get into it. She's still my friend; I reckon the guilt she's going to be feeling is punishment enough."

"She better feel guilty! She almost killed you!" He burst looking furious.

"She what?"

"Almost killed you, you lost way too much blood. It's lucky Pomfrey is so good at what she does." He said sliding a hand down his face. I was shocked. I mean I'm pretty clever, or so I'm told, and I didn't think I had lost nearly enough blood to be that serious.

"By the way, your duelling put George and I's to shame." He said his smile returning although it looked forced.

"What? Not in the least!"

"Just because you can't perform nonverbal yet doesn't mean you couldn't kick anyone's ass. Ginny knocks one of your arms out of commission and you switch hands like it's no big deal."

I blushed at his compliment. "I'd never even seen that last spell you used."

"It's just kind of a tougher form of stupefy." He said grabbing my hand again.

"Once I'm out of here would you mind teaching me to do nonverbal spells?" I asked, ever since I had seen him use them I had wanted to learn straight away.

"Harry asked me the same thing. He wants to teach the DA how to."

"They're so much better than verbal."

"They aren't as strong though, not unless you're really good at them. Otherwise my curse would have put George out for more than a couple seconds, regardless if I Reenverated him."

We were suddenly no longer alone as Harry appeared next to us, sweeping his invisibility cloak off of him.

"Merlin, Harry, warn a guy." Fred gasped faking a heart attack.

"Sorry, I had to make sure 'Mione was alright."

"I'm fine, Harry, just a little dizzy."

"Ginny told me to say she's incredibly sorry and deserves any spells you decide to send her way for the rest of her life."

"Tell Ginny that I know it was an accident and that I forgive her."

"She'll be happy to know you're okay, she's been pacing the common room since we got up there. George said he'd happily send her to the Hospital Wing if it made her feel any better."

Fred cracked a smile at that.

"Shit." Harry said throwing the cloak back over his body as Pomfrey she re-entered the ward.

"Drink up, Miss Granger." She said and I grabbed the potion and brought it to my lips. She moved to my arm to check my bandages as I turned the bottle upside down to quickly drain the contents.

"The bleeding has stopped for the most part due to the spells I used to close the wound. I'm going to re-bandage your arm, but I want you to come down tomorrow at lunch for me to check on it. I also want you to use this until you come back here, then I'll see if you'll have to continue using it." Pomfrey said handing me a sling and helping me fix it around my neck, then cradling my right arm in it.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." I said situating my arm inside the sling at the most comfortable angle.

"You're welcome, Miss Granger. Which is your wand arm?"

"My right, but I'm not too bad with my left."

"Well take it easy until you're positive of your abilities with your left. Wouldn't want anyone else being sent to the Hospital Wing would we?"

Fred and I shook our heads as he helped me out of bed.

"See you tomorrow at lunch." Madam Pomfrey said as we left the ward. Harry appeared beside us once we made it out into the hallway.

"How does it feel?" He asked looking worriedly at my arm.

"Not too bad." I said which was my second lie of the night. My arm felt like a hippogriff had stomped on it, but I'd be fine eventually.

"No need to lie to me, 'Mione."

"Oh like you always tell everyone exactly how your injuries feel." I snapped.

Harry let the subject go as we climbed through the portrait hole.

"Hermione!" I heard as I walked into the room. Every Gryffindor who was in the DA had waited up for me.

"Hey guys." I said waving with my left arm and settling down into a chair near the fire.

"How ya feeling?" Neville asked.

"I'm fine." I said forcing a smile. People needed to stop asking me that question.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione." Ginny said looking completely miserable.

"It's okay, Ginny, I know you didn't mean it."

"It doesn't matter, you're my friend, it doesn't matter how competitive I get I shouldn't have done that."

"I'm not going to deny that, but seriously I'm okay. Don't rip yourself up."

"You're in a fucking sling, Hermione! You are not fine! I bet you're in a shitload of pain and it's my entire fault!" Ginny yelled, sprinting from the room and out the portrait hole. Everyone was stunned silent as they watched the portrait slam after her.

"I'll go get her." Harry mumbled, following Ginny.

"You look exhausted, 'Mione." Fred said softly. "You should get to bed."

"That sounds like a good idea." I conceded standing up. "Thanks for waiting up for me guys; I'll see ya in the morning."

Everyone said goodnight as I made my way over to the steps to the girl's dormitories.

"Goodnight 'Mione." Fred said trying to hug me in a way that didn't hurt my arm.

"Goodnight Fred." I said standing on tiptoe to kiss him. I turned away from him and went up to my dorm. I felt completely knackered as I changed out of my blood covered clothes and into night clothes. I collapsed back onto my bed, careful to lie on my left side, and quickly fell to sleep.

_A.N._

_Hello again everyone! I'm dedicating this chapter to the year anniversary of the final Harry Potter movie. I can't believe it's been a year since it all ended. On another note I wanna thank everyone that's read my story so far. And a special thank you to anyone that reviewed, followed, or favourited this story or me. You guys are amazing. I hope you guys are still enjoying it. I also want to apologize in advance if I don't update right away like I have been. My car decided to finally die after going through four owners, one of who cough cough my brother beat it to shit. I lost count of how many accidents he put my poor Nala through. But after I was in a hit and run accident this past week she finally decided to take her final miles. And if anyone is wondering yes I'm fine. And yes I did name my car after a character in Lion King. But I'm currently in the search of a new car, and a lot of my time will be going into that. Sorry for an extremely long author's note. Ta ta for now._

_Love, Alexis_


	10. Chapter 10

"Need help?" A familiar voice asked above me as I attempted to slide some eggs onto a piece of toast. This usually mindless task became infuriating and almost impossible when one of my arms was in a sling.

"No, if I get help it wins." I said glaring at my eggs.

"What wins? The egg?" Fred asked sitting down next to me.

I nodded still staring intently at my eggs. I finally succeeded in pushing a small mound of eggs onto my piece of toast. I dropped my fork and picked up the toast and shoved it into my mouth in one bite. The way in which I was eating was anything but ladylike, but I was more focused on proving my dominance over the scrambled eggs.

"You alright?" Fred asked looking at me as though I had grown another head.

"Fantastic." I muttered picking up my fork. I began to chase the little yellow buggers around my plate some more again trying to pile them onto another piece of toast.

Fred seemed to decide that it was better to ignore my craziness than address it and started piling some porridge into a bowl.

"Other than your sudden insanity, how are you?" He asked digging into his breakfast like he hadn't eaten in days. He reminded me a lot of Ron in the way he ate except for the fact that I didn't get splattered with food when I was with Fred.

"I'm exhausted." I said and Fred nodded seeming to realize why I was acting so out of character. "I couldn't sleep wearing this stupid sling."

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"Truthfully? It hurts like hell, but not as bad as last night." I said sipping some more coffee. I needed the caffeine if I wasn't going to sleep through every one of my classes.

"Why don't you just spend the day in the Hospital Wing? Pomfrey wouldn't mind after what happened."

"Fred it's my fifth year! I have my O.W.L.s in eight months! I can't afford to miss class just because of a little injury."

"Little?" He asked but he dropped the subject. I wasn't called the brightest witch of my age for nothing. And I wouldn't maintain that title if I skived off class.

Once breakfast was over Fred walked me to my first class which happened to be potions. He carefully placed my bag on my left shoulder.

"Be careful today, 'Mione. If you want to get rid of that sling you have to take care of your arm."

"I will, believe me I can't wait to get this thing off of me."

"Oi, Granger, who did that to your arm? I'll send them flowers!" I heard Malfoy call as he came closer to the Potion's room.

"Say one more word, Malfoy, and you'll be a lot worse off than her." Fred growled. I knew Fred to be the fun-loving jokester, but at that moment he was positively menacing.

Malfoy decided not to test Fred's patience and resorted to muttering to Crabbe and Goyle as he joined the line waiting for Snape to open the door to the Potion's room.

"You don't have to wait up, Fred, I can handle myself." I said as he continued to glare at Malfoy.

"Believe me I'm fully aware you can take care of yourself, but it would make me feel better if Harry and Ron were here before I left." He said carefully pulling me into his arms and kissing my forehead.

His wish was granted a few moments later when Harry and Ron finally joined us, both out of breath.

"Sorry, woke up late." Harry gasped.

"Well I better go or McGonagall will put me in detention." Fred said before lightly pecking me on the lips. "I'll see you later."

Just as he hurried away, Snape opened the doors and we all hurried into the room.

There was a complicated potion on the board and I worriedly glanced at my arm. I knew Snape wouldn't allow me any excuse for a mediocre potion even if I only had the use of one arm.

"You have the length of the period to prepare the potion on the board." He said as he swooped down to his desk in the front of the room. "I will take no excuse if it is not finished correctly." His eyes lingered on me as he said the words.

I hastily set up my cauldron and lit the fire beneath it, then made my way to the front of the room to gather the ingredients I would need. It took me two trips to collect everything, but I didn't let that deter me.

Halfway through the class, my potion was coming along well. I was closest to the light emerald colour the book described than anyone in the whole class. I began to cut up the root that was going to be needed next. It was a little tough with only one hand and I was reminded of this morning with my eggs.

"Need help, 'Mione?" Harry asked looking over at me. His own potion was an ugly brown colour. I shook my head.

I finally finished chopping up my root and tipped it into the cauldron. The potion boiled and changed to a dark red colour. I was still on track. All that was left to do was add a sprig of mint and then I'd be finished. I dropped the little piece of greenery into the cauldron and a wave of sweet smelling vapour flew into the air. The book described this as the perfect ending point. I scooped two vials of the potion from the cauldron and labelled them.

I had learned from Harry that this was the best idea, since it was always good to have a backup. Especially when Malfoy has been so keen on making my life Hell as of late. I traipsed up to Snape's desk with my vial.

"Here you go, Professor." He accepted the vial. Halfway back to my cauldron I heard a splintering of glass. Malfoy was smirking from the front of the room; he had knocked over the tray holding my sample. I glared but went back to my cauldron to grab the extra.

"So sorry, Granger, I thought you were finished." Pansy Parkinson sneered from behind my cauldron. She had dumped the contents down the drain next to my station.

"That's fine, Parkinson, I was." I said with a smile. I stooped down and grabbed the extra vial from my bag. The smile slipped off her face as she stared at the vial in my hand. I found Malfoy across the room also looking like I had stepped on his most favourite pet. I decided to wait until the very end of class to turn in my vial. Soon enough the bell rang signalling the end of class. I handed Snape my vial and left the classroom. I had Charms until lunch, luckily with the Hufflepuffs.

"He is such a git." Ron fumed as we walked down the corridor.

"Who?"

"Malfoy, trying to fail you for the day." He said his ears a deep scarlet.

"Luckily I learned a thing or two from Harry." I said smiling over at him.

"Glad to be of service."

Charms went by quickly, we were only taking notes. I was right handed, but simply charmed my quill to take down the notes for me. Usually this wasn't allowed or no one would ever pay attention, but Flitwick let me under the circumstances. Lunch couldn't have arrived soon enough. As soon as Charms ended I sprinted all the way to the Hospital Wing. To say I was eager to get out of the sling was an understatement.

"Ah, Miss Granger, I'm glad you remembered to come."

"Of course Madam Pomfrey."

She signalled for me to sit down and then she removed the sling, then the bandages. I noticed they didn't have too much red on them.

"On a scale of one to ten how much pain have you been in?"

"About a seven." I said, noticing that my arm felt better when it wasn't bound by a bandage.

"I'm just going to let the wound get some air, and give you a potion for pain. It's healing well. Try to move it." I obliged and moved my arm in a circular motion. I hurt, but not unbearably.

"Try some magic as well." I grabbed my wand from my robes and tried a simple Lumos. My wand lit up brightly.

"Very good, drink this then you're free to go." I drank the potion, and then went down to lunch.

"She's alive!" The twins yelled as I approached the Gryffindor table. I smiled as I sat down next to Fred. Ginny was sitting across the table next to Harry. She opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off.

"Ginny if you apologize one more time, I'll tell the twins everything you told me last summer." I said. I knew this was pretty much the only threat I could think of that she'd actually be afraid of. She had spent almost the whole summer gushing about how good Harry looked with his shirt off, after seeing him cleaning without one.

"Fine." She said digging into her dinner. Of course my words only caused an uproar with Fred and George. They pestered me the whole way through dinner, which I finally silenced when I threatened to write their mother about how they were still testing their products. Later on in the common room, Fred and I curled up on the couch.

"I guess you're never going to tell me what Ginny said last summer."

"Nope." I said popping the last syllable. He sighed heavily.

(F-H)

It had been a little over a week since the last D.A. meeting. My arm was completely healed and back to normal. I had a thin scar on my upper arm, but you could hardly see it.

"Okay tonight we are going to be learning nonverbal spells. If you already know how to do them, then please helps others try to understand. And if you are just learning, I guess practice." Fred and George had taught Harry the basics of nonverbal spells. It wasn't too hard; the hardest thing about them was not accidentally saying the spell out loud. That was my biggest issue anyway, I would focus so hard on trying to do the spell I'd end up whispering it.

"How about I cast a silencing spell on you?" Fred asked. "That way you don't have to worry about whispering it."

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea. Go for it."

Fred grinned at me and cast the spell. Immediately I felt a tingle as the magic settled over me. I attempted to say something and was greeted with silence.

I was starting easy with the nonverbal spells. My first goal was to cast a Lumos.

I clenched my wand in my hand and focused on the spell. I followed Fred's directions; to feel the spell, let the idea of executing the spell become your focus, and then cast it. I envisioned the tip of my wand lighting up and focused on the incantation. At first I got nothing, but on about the third time of trying to cast it, my wand lit up.

I opened my mouth and yelled in celebration. Of course nothing came out, so I was just hopping up and down with my wand a glow.

"Good job, 'Mione!" Fred said sweeping me into a hug. He set me down and I focused on extinguishing my wand. I focused on the word 'Nox'. It still took a few tries, but my wand extinguished faster than it took to light it.

"Okay, 'Mione, try something a little harder. Stun me." Fred said bracing himself in front of me.

I shook my head frantically, I didn't want to stun Fred.

"Oh come on, I'll be fine. Here." He said and conjured some pillows for him to fall back onto.

I still didn't want to stun Fred, but I knew he wouldn't take no for an answer; or rather a frantic shake of the head.

Fred smiled at me as I pointed my wand at him and envisioned him falling back onto the pillows, stunned. I clearly focused on the incantation.

_Stupefy! _I thought and pointed my wand. To my utter surprise a red bolt flew from my wand and hit Fred square in the chest. He fell backward onto the pillows unconscious. I ran over to him and knelt next to him. I quickly realised that I was still under his 'silencio'. Everyone around us was preoccupied and didn't even spare a glance at Fred's unconscious form. Being stunned was nothing out of the ordinary in the D.A. I knew I was the only one that was going to reenverate Fred. I just hoped my nonverbal ability was good enough.

I laid the tip of my wand onto Fred's chest and envisioned him waking up.

_Reenverate! _It took a few seconds, but slowly Fred came to.

"Brilliant, Hermione!" He said pulling me into another hug. He stared at me wondering why I wasn't responding. "Oh, shit, sorry!" He pointed his want at me and I felt another tingle.

"Thanks!" I said.

"I'm so proud of you! You just performed four nonverbal spells, and you're only a fifth year. Promise me you'll put your abilities to good use in Defence. I wish I could see the Toad's face if you set her desk on fire. She'd never think any fifth year was capable of nonverbals."

I smiled at his words, but looked around the room. I seemed to be the only fifth year that had yet to manage the spell. Across the room Ron was purple in the face in an attempt to not say the words out loud.

"Harry!" I called out after realising almost anyone attempting a nonverbal was purple in the face trying to prevent themselves from speaking.

"Yea, 'Mione?"

"Try casting a silencing spell on anyone that's trying. It's loads easier."

"Good idea!" He called back and immediately made the announcement. I turned my attention back to Fred.

"How about you try a nonverbal when you aren't under a Silencing spell?"

"Yea, I guess I should try that."

I pointed my wand at a wooden dummy in the middle of room.

_Reducto! _To my delight the dummy burst into a million pieces and collapsed to the floor.

"Amazing job, 'Mione!" Harry yelled and I grinned. I practiced nonverbal spells with Fred for the rest of the D.A. meeting. I was the only one that had gotten the hang of it, but plenty others had accomplished a spell or two while silenced. Only Luna was able to cast a nonverbal spell while not silenced, and more than a couple of times.

"Great job everyone, see you next time!" Harry called out and began the ritual of sending people back to their dorms in small groups with the aid of the Marauder's Map. Fred and I were one of the last groups to exit. We made our way back to the common room as quickly, but silently as possible. This feat was made easier by the fact that Fred knew every shortcut the castle had to offer. We were almost back when I heard voices close by. I quickly cast a nonverbal silencing spell on Fred and me, not pausing to be excited about the fact that they were becoming almost easy for me.

I grabbed Fred's hand pulling him back towards me, preventing him from ducking through the tapestry ahead. I put a finger to my lips then pointed to my ear then the tapestry. Fred and I being quiet wasn't really necessary since I had cast the spell, but regardless we tiptoed back towards the tapestry and put our ears to it.

"I'm telling you Potter is up to something." Filch wheezed.

"I'm aware of this, Argus, but to find out what that is we need to be patient. Potter will slip up soon enough, and then I can get him out of this school. Get rid of his lies."

"How are we going to catch him?"

"Leave that to me, I have a special group of students out there waiting to catch Potter whenever the opportunity arises. If I'm lucky I can get rid of that bushy haired bookworm along with him. The other one, the ginger, is nothing without those two. Yes, if I can get rid of them, this school is trouble free." Umbridge said seeming utterly pleased with herself with coming up with this plan.

"What about the Weasley twins?"

I found it as no surprise that Filch knew their names, even though he only knew a handful of the student's names. Fred and George had been giving him Hell since first year.

"Ah, I had almost forgotten about them. The same deal goes with those two. I have information from a trusted student that one of them attacked him, for utterly no reason. Of course I couldn't get them in trouble for that; Dumbledore would have sided with the Gryffindor's over a Slytherin for sure. In time those two will slip up as well. If they mess up bad enough, I could maybe talk to Cornelius about sending them to Azkaban. He owes me a favour." I looked up at Fred, stunned at the Toad's words.

His ears were a deep scarlet and he looked like he wanted to strangle Umbridge.

"Come along, Argus, we have children to find out past curfew." We waited to hear their footsteps retreat completely down the corridor before we emerged from behind the tapestry and I lifted the silencing spell.

"Azkaban? I'll kill her before I go there, Filch and Malfoy as well." Fred fumed. "And your hair is _not _bushy, it looks nice."

I smirked at his words. "Thanks, Fred. Don't worry you'll go to Azkaban over my dead body."

My words seemed to comfort him for some reason and by the time we had made it back to the common room his ears were back to normal.

"What happened to you two?" Ron asked as we entered the common room.

"We got caught up with the Toad." I said sitting down. "And over heard some interesting things as well." I launched into telling Harry, Ron, Ginny, and George about what had happened, Fred added things every so often.

"I can't believe her!" Ginny and George burst.

"We have to be careful." I said looking at the group. "We can't let her get what she wants."

"Hermione if you think Fred and I are just going to lay low and not do pranks, you don't know us at all." George said with a smirk. A smirk I currently wanted to slap off his face.

"You guys have to! She could get you expelled or if she really puts her mind to it, Azkaban." I turned desperately to Fred. "Please, Fred!"

"He's right 'Mione, we can't just let her reign over the school without making it Hell for her."

I could feel tears pricking at my eyes, and I searched Fred's face hoping he was just lying in front of his twin. I felt a traitorous tear slip down my face as I launched to my feet.

"Write me then will you? Or actually don't bother!" I yelled running as fast as I could towards the dormitories.

"'Mione come back!" Fred said trying to catch up to me before I made it to the stairs. Unfortunately for me he caught my arm just as I hit the first step.

"'Mione." He pleaded. I wrenched my arm from his grasp.

"Don't touch me!" I said refusing to look at him and running up the steps to my dorm.

I made it up to my dorm which was deserted and collapsed onto my bed, crying in earnest. I had seen Fred near a Dementor before, at a Quidditch match in third year. It was one of the worst things I had ever seen in my life. Fred almost always had a smile on his face, but when the Dementors came around it was the opposite. The day of the match he had almost fallen out of the sky much like Harry had. George had been close and had helped him back onto his broom. Everyone else was too focused on Harry falling from the sky to notice Fred; I was probably the only one that knew how much he was affected by them except George.

I fell asleep with images of Fred being under the Dementor's chilling influence playing over and over again in my head.

I hadn't been asleep for long when I sat bolt upright in bed gasping. I had finally fought my way out of a nightmare of Fred being subjected to the Dementor's Kiss. His soulless body slumped up against a wall next to George's equally soulless body. Never to laugh or joke again. I was hit by a fresh wave of tears and I cast a silencing spell on my drapes so I wouldn't wake any of my roommates up.

_A.N._

_I hope everyone liked this chapter, it's my longest yet. Kind of a reward for waiting a few extra days for it. I hope everyone noticed the image I have been using for this fic. I have to thank and give credit to akaforbidden on deviantArt for the amazing image. A kind reviewer also gave me a guide in writing in British speak which I found very informative. The only thing I came across on the guide that irked me was the author's criticisms of using 'Mione as a nickname for Hermione saying not in any of the books was it ever written and how annoying it is when writers use it. Well personally, I think Hermione is a mouthful and if she were my friend I would have thought of a nickname as soon as I met her. So whether the name is canon or not anyone with a problem can find the nearest batch of Bertie Bott's and eat all the vomit and bogey flavoured ones. Thanks for reading. (P.S. reviews are amazing!)_

_Love, Alexis_


	11. Chapter 11

I didn't even try to fall asleep again. I knew all I'd have was nightmares. Sleep was tempting though. After crying so much my eyes were sore and it felt good to close them. I forced myself to stay awake; there was no way that I was going through those horrid nightmares again. I would have to ask Madam Pomfrey for a Dreamless Sleep Potion tomorrow. I lay in bed, staring at the top of my four poster bed. I had pondered studying a bit for O.W.L.s but my tired mind convinced me not to. After hours of tossing and turning in bed the sun began to come up. I hurried into the loo and began to get ready as soon as it was a decent hour to do so. Even after I had gotten completely ready, even taking the time to style my hair a little, everyone in the room was still asleep.

My eyes were tearing due to exhaustion, so I decided an early breakfast and some coffee would help loads. I grabbed my bag and quietly tiptoed out of the dorm and down the steps to the common room. As I approached the common room I noticed a large mass lying at the bottom of the stares. As I got closer I noticed that Fred was lying across the entranceway to the girl's dorms. I guessed in an attempt to catch me when I entered the common room. My heart ached at the sweet notion, but I stepped over him and continued on my way to breakfast.

I wanted to forgive Fred, I really did, but I couldn't bare the thought of him and George being expelled. Let alone being sent to Azkaban. I shivered as the images from my nightmares filled my head. I forced myself to start translating ruins inside my head to keep the images away. When I entered the Great Hall I was one of only a handful of students. Dumbledore and McGonagall were the only professors present at the staff table. Breakfast continued for another two hours so I wasn't surprised at the low attendance.

"Hello, Neville." I said sitting down across from him. He had a book propped against the pitcher of orange juice in front of him as he lazily ate his breakfast.

"Good morning, Hermione, what are you doing up so early?" He asked closing his book and returning it to his bag.

"I couldn't sleep, what about you?" I poured myself some pumpkin juice and buttered some toast.

"I'm usually always up this early. Professor Sprout lets me help in the greenhouses. There are a lot of plants that need attention just as the sun rises."

"Oh, I had never really thought of that. That seems fun though."

He grinned at me. "Oh it is! There is this one flower that only blooms once a day, for about a minute when the sun first hits it. It's the most beautiful flower; I look forward to seeing it every day."

"Fascinating." I said dipping the corner of my toast into an over-easy egg.

"Are you alright, Hermione? You've got huge bags below your eyes." Neville said with a worried expression.

I hastily grabbed a compact mirror from my bag. Neville was right, deep bags ringed underneath my eyes. I quickly dabbed some concealer onto them and blended it in with my finger.

"Better?" I asked stowing the mirror and make up back into my bag.

He nodded, and didn't push the fact that I had avoided his question. We continued for the rest of breakfast in a comfortable silence. Unfortunately whenever my mind became unoccupied, the images of Fred and sometimes George leaked back into my head. Somehow the thought of those two under the Dementor's influence seemed worse than anyone else I knew. I had no idea why, seeing as I was closer to Harry than I was George, but Harry's image wasn't seeping into my head. Maybe it was because Fred and George just seemed so untouchable by bad things. They were always joking, and smiling. I focused on translating more and more ruins whenever these images leaked into my brain.

I had just finished my third cup of coffee when Ginny and Harry settled down at the table with Neville and me.

"Hey, 'Mione." Harry said sitting down next to me.

"Hi, Harry." I said smiling weakly at him.

I noticed Ginny and Harry exchanging looks from the corner of my eye.

"I saw that." I said setting my utensils down and glaring at the two of them.

"Did you see?" Ginny started to say.

"Fred? Yes I did. Doesn't change anything." I said biting into another slice of toast.

"But."

"No, you guys don't get it. You might think that the Toad is just saying those things, but she's serious. You didn't hear her last night. I can't just condone those two being sent to Azkaban just so they can keep their prides unwounded."

"You really think?" Harry asked, but I cut over him as well.

"Harry, do you really think she's above that kind of thing? You see what she does to people who just annoy her, I mean just look at your hand and Fred's."

Harry grimaced rubbing the back of his left hand self-consciously. The words still clearly etched into the skin. More and more students were trickling into the Great Hall, with only an hour of breakfast left now.

I kept an eye out for the twins, ready to flee at a moment's notice. I just couldn't talk to Fred right now, I knew the second he started talking to me I would want to forgive him.

"Are you going to Hogsmeade with Fred tomorrow?" Ginny asked. Tomorrow was the last Hogsmeade trip before Halloween. Gryffindor House always had a costume party on Halloween, after the feast, so everyone was looking to get their costumes tomorrow.

"I've no idea." I said truthfully. I had completely forgotten about the trip.

Suddenly, with about a half hour left of breakfast, the twins appeared. Fred looked miserable, and had bags about the same size as mine underneath his eyes. George had an arm thrown across his shoulders and was quietly whispering to him.

"See ya in class." I said standing up and hurrying the opposite way of the twins. I heard them calling after me as I hurried out a side door, but I acted as though I hadn't heard them and hustled out of the hall.

(F-H)

I woke up cold and with an ache in my neck. I slowly blinked my eyes open, momentarily confused as to why I was laying on the common room floor. The previous night's events flowed into my mind. It felt like there was a vice around my heart as the mental image of Hermione's tearful face filled my mind. Her words 'Don't touch me!' played on repeat as I finally got the strength to stand up and head up to my dorm to get ready.

"Any luck?" George asked as I walked into the room. I shook my head and began to dig through my trunk.

"She'll come 'round, Freddie, don't worry." George said in an effort to cheer me up.

I shook my head. "If there is one thing that rivals her intelligence it's her stubbornness."

"Once she sees the Toad's face when we give her a taste of our latest invention, she'll be laughing with everyone else."

"No, George, she won't be. She was serious about what she said."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that we should listen to her."

"What?" George said sounding flabbergasted.

I stood up and looked up at him. "At least for now, we should lay off of pranking. I was thinking about it, and I really think she would do it."

"You really think Umbridge would send us to Azkaban?" He asked looking amused.

"Look at this." I said thrusting the back of my left hand close to his face.

"If she does this because we were annoying her, I'm sure she'd be more than happy to snap our wands in half and send us to that island." George looked into my eyes and seemed to sober up.

"You're probably right, Gred." I checked the clock realizing if I wanted breakfast and to catch up with Hermione before class, I would have to hurry up. No more than five minutes later and George and I were making our way down to breakfast. The images from last night were still running through my head on replay, and I couldn't do anything to get them to stop.

"Just explain to her what we agreed, Fred. That's why she's mad at you. Once she knows we're listening to her, you guys will be back to normal." We were half way down the Gryffindor table when I caught sight of her hightailing it out of the Hall.

"Hermione!" George and I yelled after her. Either she didn't hear us, or she was ignoring us. I voted for the second.

My mood was not getting any better as I sat down at the bench next to Harry.

"She still mad?" George asked sitting on my other side.

"You could say that." Harry said nervously.

(F-G)

Anyone who had any trace of observational skills knew that there was something up with Hermione Granger and Fred Weasley. The former had yet to answer a question in any class and it was just before lunch. Even the Slytherin's noticed that the know-it-all was not her usual self. Not even Malfoy had the heart to take the mickey out of her. The latter was equally as miserable, if not more so. The usually always smiling prankster was seen with his arms folded beneath his head and he was using them as a makeshift pillow. Not even a knock-knock joke could be pulled out of him. Even Dumbledore noticed the differences in the two students. A few bets were made on how quickly the two would go back to their normal selves. It was rumoured that McGonagall had wages on sometime between lunch and the feast, her closest competitor being Flitwick who had the slot of between breakfast and lunch. Of course, these were just rumours.

A.N.

_This wasn't as quick as my usual updates, but I have been busy! I finally found a car (a 2002 Mazda Tribute for anyone who's curious) and I've been trying to finalize the details of that. Also, my internet has been shut off so I'm only able to update when at my dad's house or a friends. If anyone is interested, MeggiPadfoot kindly translated this fic into French, so this story is officially available in two languages. The link is on my profile. Also, I don't know if anyone noticed, but in my last chapter I messed up lunch and dinner. Hermione went from going to lunch to showing up at dinner. Just a little mess up on my part that I need to fix. And I'm sorry for the fact that this author's note is turning into a novel, but this fic has hit over 11,000 views. Yayyyy. Well as always review! And I'll try to get another update up while I'm at my daddy's._

_Love, Alexis_


	12. Chapter 12

"Come on, Fred, ya gotta eat something." George said piling my favourite foods onto my plate. I stared at the ham and cheese sandwich, corn and chicken noodle soup he laid in front of me; I wanted to eat I just wasn't hungry. I felt like I was going to throw up and like my heart was in my throat.

"You guys didn't break up; you'll be back together by tomorrow. Please eat something" My twin pleaded.

I spared a glance down the table to look at Hermione. She was talking to Harry and Ginny. To an outsider she might seem okay, but I could see how sad she was. A part of me wanted to rip whoever made her that miserable into pieces. Then I remembered I was the reason.

I slowly dipped a spoon into my soup and ate some of the chicken noodle to appease my brother. As long as I ate slowly, the soup wouldn't upset my stomach.

"That's it!" George said slamming down his fork and pushing back from the table. I watched as he marched down the table towards Hermione.

"I'm sick of this!" He yelled. "You're both miserable! He's doing what you want, so why can't you both kiss and make up?"

"He is?" Harry, Ginny, and Hermione all said in unison.

"Yes, we both are. I'm doing it because he wants to, and he's doing it so he makes her feel better. He's putting aside who he is for _you._" He said pointing his finger at 'Mione. "And if you don't get your little arse over there and get back with him, I'll risk Azkaban to prank you harder than I ever had anyone else."

"That's enough!" I yelled standing up and glaring at my brother. "No one, not even my twin can speak to her like that."

"But-."

"No, George, I understand you're trying to help me, but you don't speak to her like that. No matter what."

"Is it true?" I heard a small voice ask.

I turned towards Hermione. "About the pranking? Yea."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She said standing up and fleeing the Great Hall. I ran after her, passing through the entrance hall only a few steps behind her. I finally caught up to her halfway down the corridor leading from the Hall.

"'Mione." I said catching her arm. She didn't pull away like she had the night before. I pulled her against my chest. Quickly feeling her tears wet my shirt.

"I didn't mean to ask you to give up what makes you, you. I just can't lose you." She cried.

"I know you didn't 'Mione. I understand you're only doing this to keep George and me safe."

"I kept getting these nightmares last night of you and George being subjected to the Kiss. It was terrible."

I shivered slightly at the thought. "That won't happen to us, love. We're going to stay away from the Toad. I'm not leaving you."

She was silent for a while, finally after what seemed longer than a class with Binns, she responded. "Promise?"

I grinned for the first time all day. "Of course, 'Mione."

She looked up at me a watery smile gracing her face. I couldn't hold back any longer and swiftly attached my lips to hers.

We returned to the Hall a little while longer, my hand clasping hers. When we entered, everyone broke out into applause. Hermione's cheeks turned pink, but I led her back to Harry, Ginny and George. As we sat down I vaguely registered McGonagall and Flitwick passing something to Dumbledore, who was smiling with his eyes twinkling.

(F-H)

I blinked my eyes open, trying to ignore the light filtering through the curtains on my bed. My mind reflected back on the horrors of yesterday and I smiled, grateful that that little nightmare was over. I decided to start the day out on that good thought, and sat up in bed.

I was supposed to meet Fred in the common room in about an hour. I grabbed the outfit I had chosen the night before and swept off to the loo to get ready. Since we were going to eat breakfast in Hogsmeade, I decided to go a little fancier then I usually did. When I had a few minutes left until I met Fred, I stepped back from the mirror and appraised myself.

My hair was sleek and pulled back into a half up half down hair style, which thinned out my thickness pretty well. I had curled the strands that weren't pulled back and had put on a little make up. I was also wearing a deep red jumper and dark jeans to contrast. I was pretty impressed with how I looked, if not a little self-conscious.

I stepped out of the loo and grabbed my cloak and bag. I slipped my wand into an inner pocket and made my way towards the common room. I caught sight of him talking to Ginny and Harry as I descended the steps. Harry waved at me as I hit the final stair and Fred turned around.

If there were ever a time when I wanted Colin Creevey floating around taking pictures it was then. His face when he saw me was priceless. Almost as though he had been hit with a Cunfundus charm.

"See something you like?" I asked when I was only a few feet away. His jaw snapped shut and he grinned over at me.

"You know I do." He said with a wink, pulling me into a hug. I gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, and then Ginny, Harry, Fred and I all set off out of the common room to Hogsmeade.

"The Three Broomsticks first?" Harry asked and we all muttered out assent. I for one, was starving. Outside it wasn't too cold, or it might have been but I had gotten used to the cold; whichever it was I no longer needed gloves as we walked to the Three Broomsticks. I felt the rough calluses on Fred's hand from being a beater, as well as the warmth his hand brought to mine. I grinned slightly as we finally stepped into the pub. We found a table quickly since most of the Hogwarts students were still up at the castle.

"What can I get ya dearies?" Madam Rosmerta asked us. She took our orders and bustled back to the kitchen. Fred, Harry and Ginny were all discussing the upcoming Quidditch match next month. Ginny was going to be playing as a chaser since Katie had detention until the New Year with Snape. No one knew why since she wouldn't tell anyone except Angelina. It was obvious how excited Ginny was to play in the match, the fact that Gryffindor would be playing Slytherin was an added bonus. It was the biggest match of the year, and even though it was a whole month away, it was a very popular topic to talk about.

Unfortunately I found it utterly boring.

I just couldn't find myself being interested with the rules and game of Quidditch. The only time sports ever really interested me was when my dad and I watched the Olympics. I had once tried to bring this topic up to Fred. He had been flummoxed by the idea of how many sports muggles played. And got confused whenever I tried to explain the ones I found interesting (diving, swimming, and gymnastics).

Instead of boring myself trying to understand their conversation I fiddled with the eggs in front of me. I was eating over easy eggs this time. A lot of people found the drippy inside disgusting, but I found it delicious.

"What do you think, 'Mione?"

"Huh, what?" I asked looking up from my eggs.

One side of Fred's mouth quirked upward. "I asked if you had any ideas for a Halloween costume?"

"Well do you want to match or do you want to dress separately?" It was a well-known fact that couples were supposed to match costumes at the Halloween party.

"Matching would be wicked." He said his eyes lighting up with the fact that I suggested.

"How about we go over to the store and look around?"

The others agreed with my idea, so we quickly finished up eating then left for the Halloween store.

The store was only a few doors down from the Three Broomsticks, when we entered a light tinkling of bells signalled our arrival. Harry and Ginny split off from Fred and me as we made our way through the stacks of costumes.

They had a section of purely muggle outfits, which basically meant they didn't do anything cool. Magical costumes had properties, like if there were fairy wings, then the wings would lift the wearer a few inches off the ground. No matter how much I loved muggle things, when it came to Halloween costumes, magical costumes were a must.

Fred was probably one of the worst people to shop with on the face of the Earth. He got excited over the smallest things and was constantly calling me from across the store to see something he had found. This was usually something like vampire teeth that would seal to your teeth to give the illusion of an actual vampire.

After Fred had suggested multiple costumes which I had vetoed, I found the perfect costume.

"Hey Fred, how about this?" I heard his stumbling through the aisles until he found me. I held up the costumes and he broke into a grin.

"That is utterly perfect!"

"That's what I thought." I said smiling at my find.

We tried them on and had them magically altered to fit us perfectly.

"We're going to shock the common room tomorrow."

"We'll be hard to forget." I agreed. We paid for our purchase then found Harry and Ginny. They too had found their outfits so we left the shop. I made Fred promise to not let anyone even George know what we were wearing, and he swore he wouldn't. To say we would be memorable would be an understatement.

_A.N._

_I'm sorry! That's all I can say for making you wait this long for an update. For anyone who doesn't know I just started university, my first year and to say I've been busy would indeed be an understatement. I had to move in, and get my classes started, and then I decided to try out for the play, I got a part (my name was Evelyn in a play called New Shorts, and I had a decent amount of lines) and that basically ruled my life. Now the play is finally over, and I found time to write. If it makes you feel any better, I also write a One Direction fanfic on Tumblr and they haven't gotten an update in a while either. Well please review and let me know you haven't all left me even though I deserve it._

_Love, Alexis_


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